The beautiful sounds of African grey parrots in their natural habitat

The African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or simply Grey parrot, is a fascinating bird that calls the forests of West and Central Africa its home. It’s a very difficult species to study because of its secretive nature and remote habitats it lives in. As a consequence, little is known about the African grey parrot and its life in the wilderness.

These parrots are some of the most intelligent bird species, some individuals having been shown to equal the cognitive abilities of a child. They can solve simple puzzles and can learn number sequences. They have even shown altruistic behaviour and concern for others! They also mimic a wide variety of sounds including other bird species, and in captivity human speech.

Sadly this is one of the traits that makes it a very popular cage bird in many parts of the world. On top of habitat loss and natural predators, the (legal or illegal) trade has dramatically reduced their numbers in the wild, with many populations being virtually eliminated. It is estimated that more than one in five wild birds is captured every year, and more than half of these die even before they reach the market. As with any wild animal that is kept as a pet, this is an appalling practice and should be completely banned.

On my trip to Gabon in 2018 I had the incredible privilege of seeing and hearing these fascinating birds in their natural habitat – the lush rainforests where they belong. It was not an easy task to record their calls in a chaotic soundscape full of piercing insect calls, but at dusk a small flock got close to my recording rig and investigated it from the canopy. It’s encouraging to know that there still are wild populations and hopefully we as humans can learn to admire them in their natural habitat, and not in a cage.

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