Grey Parrot - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by martinuk
Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Wakiso District, Uganda, 5th July 2013

Includes: Timneh Parrot

Psittacus erithacus

Identification

28–39 cm

• Grey overall plumage, darker on back
• Whitish head
• Bare facial area around eye
• Blackish primaries
• Red tail coverts

Similar Species

Grey Parrot and Timneh Parrot differ from each other in size, in that Grey Parrot has all black bill while Timneh Parrot has bicolored bill (pinkish-grey to orange-red upper mandible) and in that tail is red in Grey Parrot but maroon in Timneh Parrot.

Distribution

Africa: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea Gabon, Congo, Angola, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands, Bioko (Fernando Po), Sao Tome, Principe

Popular cage pet, escapes can turn up anywhere.

Taxonomy

Timneh Parrot was formerly included in Grey Parrot.

Subspecies

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

• P. e. princeps:

• Príncipe Island (Gulf of Guinea)

• P. e. erithacus:

• Ivory Coast to Kenya, Tanzania, Príncipe, São Tomé and Bioko

The subspecies princeps is included in Timneh Parrot by some authorities. The island of Príncipe may currently be inhabited by birds belonging to both of the subspecies included here.

Habitat

A variety of lowland forests types, including mangroves, gallery, savanna woodland and cultivated areas.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of a variety of fruit and seeds. They are particularly partial to the oily flesh of oil palm and figs.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Avibase
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey Parrot. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Parrot

External Links

Search for photos of Grey Parrot in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1