“The Einstein of the Bird World.”

The exotic African
Grey Parrot is one of the most amazing birds to ever live because of its
ability to talk and mimic sounds accurately.  The bird is not just a top talker, its also
extremely intelligent that’s why it’s called “The Einstein’s of the Bird
World.”  Most people keep this bird
as a pet because of its excellent communication skills.  The larger of the species is in Congo so at times it’s referred to as
The Congo African Grey Parrot.  They
are generally found in savannas, coastal mangroves, woodlands and edges of forest clearings in their West and Central Africa range.

At a distance it just looks like an ordinary medium-sized,
dusty-looking gray bird but a you get closer it has a distinguishing bright red
tail, intelligent orange eyes, and a stunning scalloped pattern to its plumage.
Their diet in the wild consists mostly of palm nuts, seeds, fruits, and leafy
matter.

The intelligence of the bird is seen in its capacity to
recognize the meaning of words and phrases. African greys  are said to need plenty of toys that
challenge their intelligence, such as foraging and puzzle toys.

According the World animation protection (WAP) up to 21%
African Grey Parrot’s population is poached every year to supply the illegal
wildlife trade, for people to own them as “exotic pets”. Interestingly this
parrot tends to outlive its owners at times as they are known to live African
grey an average of 60 years, with some birds reaching 80 years old. Yet
ironically because they outlive their owners, they go through traumatic experience
from changing homes several times in their lifetime.

According to WAP, Wild African Grey parrots are highly
social and nest in large groups, containing thousands of individuals,
comprising of small family groups. This species manages complex social
relationships and cooperate with other members of the group. When kept as pets,
their need for social interaction isn’t met, so the birds often get stressed
and display self-harming behaviour, like ripping out their own feathers.

Therefore, it is advisable to let these birds roam in the
wild so we do not deprive them in reaching their full potential. They also have
the right to be birds and explore on their own without forced limitation.

Take our pledge to never buy an exotic pet and help us
eliminate the demand for these wild animals on the pet market. Green Promise
Initiative has a mandate of ensuring that these birds and other species are
kept alive for the future generations.