Bird Album
Grey Parrot
Psittacus erithacus Linnaeus, 1758
28–39 cmLength46–52 cmWingspan333 gWeight
This silver-gray parrot has a red tail and white bare skin around the eye, and is adept at mimicking human speech.
Busiest months: July · Most records: Uganda, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea
How to identify
Field marks
- Body feathers mainly silver-gray, paler on belly
- Bare skin around the eye white
- Tail feathers and undertail-coverts bright red
- Bill black, toes lead-gray
Male, female and young
Sexes have similar plumage; juvenile irises are dark gray or black, while those of adults are yellow.
Voice
Sharp, whistle-like calls with no fixed pattern; mimics many sounds from its surroundings.
Where and when it's recorded
Grey Parrot has been recorded at 126 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 22 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, is an African parrot in the family Psittacidae.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Grey Parrot?
The Grey Parrot is about 28–39 cm long, with a wingspan of 46–52 cm and weighs around 333 g.
Where does the Grey Parrot live?
Its breeding range: Africa: southeastern Ivory Coast to Kenya, Tanzania and Angola, and Gulf of Guinea Islands. It is most often recorded in Uganda, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
When is the best time to see the Grey Parrot?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in July (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Grey Parrot endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Grey Parrot as Endangered.
What does the Grey Parrot eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Grey Parrot in?
It belongs to the family African & New World Parrots (Psittacidae), order Parrot (Psittaciformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 28–39 cm
- Wingspan
- 46–52 cm
- Weight
- 333 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Endangered
More measurements
- Wing
- 232 mm
- Tail
- 91 mm
- Bill
- 41 mm
- Tarsus
- 25 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Africa: southeastern Ivory Coast to Kenya, Tanzania and Angola, and Gulf of Guinea Islands
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Parrot Psittaciformes
- Family
- African & New World Parrots Psittacidae
- Genus
- Psittacus
Other birds in the genus Psittacus
Timneh ParrotPsittacus timneh
Red-fronted ParrotPoicephalus gulielmi
Yellow-fronted ParrotPoicephalus flavifrons
Brown-necked ParrotPoicephalus fuscicollis
Cape ParrotPoicephalus robustus
Meyer's ParrotPoicephalus meyeri
Rüppell's ParrotPoicephalus rueppellii
Brown-headed ParrotPoicephalus cryptoxanthus
Niam-niam ParrotPoicephalus crassus
Senegal ParrotPoicephalus senegalus
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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Toumoto(おぴ～＠コザクラインコ) -> http://opi.toumoto.net. ↗
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