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THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT (PSITTACUS ERITHACUS)
Published on 10/15/06 at 22:20:07 GMT by Tanah
The African Grey Parrot is restricted to the equatorial forest belt from guinea-Bissau to Kakamega forest in western Kenya. In Uganda, It is found in appropriate habitat across the south of the country, north to Kaniyo Pabidi in Murchison falls protected areas, across the Mabira Forest and Ssese Islands.
This beautiful Parrot has two described races or forms which are physically different in appearance, the paler nominate, which is scientifically known as Psittacus erithacus in central east Africa and the darker P.E. timneh in the west with a cline of escalating size from West to East. The sexes are similar, the male becoming darker with age and the young bird is told from an adult by a grey, not yellow iris.
It is a big Parrot, slightly covered in size by the grey headed parrot piocephalus suahelicus (seen only in Uganda at Mgahinga and Bwindi, ruhiza national parks) and usually seen flying overhead in flocks of 2-20, uttering a series of screams, screeches, pops, whistles and croaks. Its demand as a very popular household pet is proving to be the cause of its increasing rarity in the wild, through illegal collecting as well as habitat destruction.
There are only 21 species of parrot in Africa compared to 52 in Australia and 70 in south America.
Traditionally, this species would have been far more wide spread within the forest biome, but the fragmentation of forest cover over its range has reduced it to isolated population in pockets of forest.
In Kampala, we see them usually in the morning and evening coming to and from perch. They are particularly fond of oil palm fruits, of which there are many mature trees in Kampala, planted years ago as ornamental specimens.
Birds flock together at night at traditional communal roost sites(in Gabon traditional roosts of 5-10,000 birds have been recorded!) and depart in the morning to fruiting trees sometimes flying great distances to feed.
Being confined to the equator, it does not have seasonal migration pattern but flies far and wide in response to fruiting trees in different seasons. During the rains it will capitalize on fruiting forest trees not traveling very far, but during the dry season it will often move away from the forest into agricultural areas to feed on maize, causing considerable damage to subsistence crops. It can be seen flying over Lake Victoria between the Sesse Islands and Forest patches in and around Masaka, distances of up to 50km.
African greys nest in large trees, in old growth forests that have plenty of dead wood to support naturally occurring cavities. They will use woodpecker holes and lay 2-4 white eggs.
Parrots are the only birds that have a movable maxilla, the upper bill attached hinge like to the skull. They can exert tremendous power with the bill, which is used to open the more stubborn of nuts and fruit. They have the most remarkable feet, using them not just as other birds do, but as hands to hold food items like a stick of sugar cane in the same way that we way that man would. Instead of normal bird feet, three forward one back, they have two toes pointing forward and two back (Zygodactyls). These feet combined with the bill, which it uses to hold onto branches, enable the bird to climb very well along flimsy branches to reach fruit at the tips, giving it an advantage over other birds its size, which are physically unable to climb in the same way.
Given their impressive natural vocabulary and range of calls, they are very well disposed to pick up new sounds in and around their environment. This is a particular attraction for the bird as a pet, which will imitate everything from cell phone to the toilet being flushed!!
Parrots generally live to a great age the famous sulfur-crested Cockatoo at London zoo lived to 126 years old!!
Without the pressures of survival in the wild, African Greys will live up to 60 years in captivity, and around 40-50 in the wild.
If their breeding habitat is removed, they will be seen mistakenly thriving for years, but not breeding. Eventually the population becomes too old to breed and suddenly over a short period of time dies off.
The main predator, other than man , to prey upon African Grey Parrot is the Black sparrow hawk, the largest of the Accipiter family, sometimes seen around Kampala and Entebbe.. The predator is by nature secretive , ambushing its prey from thick cover. Others include Ayres’s Hawk Eagle and African Harrier Hawk ( or Gymnogene) the latter using its specialized long, double –jointed legs to reach into the parrot’s nest-hole to reach the chicks.
With old growth forest severely depleted outside of major reserves, breeding habitat can be simulated in suburban areas. Firewood collection has put great pressure on hole nesting species and those which feed on invertebrates, through the collection of dead wood, which in a forest is as important as live wood.
An exciting activity to experiment with is to install parrot nesting boxes. Anyone in Kampala with a garden having medium to large trees, that attract feeding greys, can try putting up different designs to see if they become occupied.
A basic box shape 250 by 250 cm wide by 600cm long with an entrance hole 12 cm diameter may attract parrots to it. It can also attract bees, so caution is advised as to where it is actually placed. I had a pair of brown parrots nest in a box in Muyenga a Kampala suburb as well as a pair of Burchell’s starling at Kawempe. Black and white casqued Hornbills may also greatly appreciate a tea-chest or beer keg sized nest- box, which they readily take to.
There may be as many as 2000 pet African Greys in Kampala ´, most having been caught in the wild. Bird breeders who rear African Greys are supposed to fit a closed ring to the leg of the Chick before it grows too big. Therefore an adult with closed ring will probably be a captive bred bird.
Tanah Hadijah is a free lance author found in Africa. More of her articles can be found on Uganda Safari guide and directoryUganda safari. Contact her on info@abacusvacations.com /hatadina@yahoo.com
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