The Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is a popular pet bird, not because of beautiful feathers like most parrots, but because of their ability to mimic sounds, including human speech. This species has been kept in captivity since the early 1500s and possibly longer.
The Origin of Grey Parrots
Grey Parrots are an African species, living in the dense forests of sub-Saharan Africa surrounding the Congo River and its tributaries. They range from the southern coast of the bulge of Africa south to northern Angola, and east into western Kenya.
In 1872 and 1873, when many Europeans were exploring Africa, Dr. Anton Reichenow observed and described Grey Parrots in the same habitat they are seen in today: mangrove swamps, riverbanks, and forest edges. Outside the breeding season, he reported, they gathered at sunset in large flocks, roosting in trees, and returning to the same tree night after night (The Grey Parrot, de Grahl, p. 9).
Who Kept the First Pet Grey Parrot?
Some parrot enthusiasts believe that the Egyptians were the first to keep Grey Parrots. Expert Wolfgang de Grahl, however, disputes this, arguing: “no trace of them can be found in hieroglyphics” (p. 17). de Grahl relates that the Romans ate parrots and fed them to lions, though it’s unclear which species were involved. By the 1500s, and for hundreds of years thereafter, an active trade carried Grey Parrots on ships from the West Coast of Africa to both Continental Europe and Britain.
Early Trading
Native Africans once ate parrots and killed them for feathers, but when the demand for live birds made Grey Parrots more valuable alive than dead, the practice changed. Soon, native trappers were actively seeking parrot nests in tree cavities; a common practice was to fasten a net over the opening and then pound on the tree to frighten birds out. Adults were typically released because parrot fanciers favored young birds, which learn to talk more easily and are tamer. de Grahl writes that “In Ghana, posts with several perches were used, and approximately fifteen grey Parrots were chained to such ‘a tree’ to get them used to the presence of humans” (p. 10).
Shipped in reed baskets from Western Africa, birds often spent weeks at sea confined in stuffy quarters, poorly fed and denied water. Many died because traders and importers didn’t understand their needs.
Grey Parrots in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century
African greys remain coveted and pricey pet birds; those with unusual colouring and a proven ability to talk bring the highest prices. Today, trade in wild birds is restricted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species(CITES), but still occurs, both legally and illegally.
Today, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Grey Parrot as Near Threatened, with between 680,000 and thirteen million birds left in the wild. Both habitat loss and the pet bird trade account for population declines—data indicate that almost 360,000 birds were taken from the wild between 1994 and 2003, and the annual take of wild birds may be as high as 21% of the total population (IUCN Red List).
Meanwhile, research on birds in captivity and in the wild is revealing new things about their ability to use human speech and other sounds for communication, as well as how we can protect and conserve them in their native habitat.
Sources:
Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Perrins, Christopher ed. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2003
“Psittacus erithacus – Near Threatened.” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The Grey Parrot. De Grahl, Wolfgang. Neptune City NJ: T. F. H. Publications, 1987
