When it comes to magical powers, a common wish, next to flying and being able to teleport or tell the future, is wishing for the ability to talk to animals. I’ve never understood it myself—I talk to animals all the time. My cat even talks back. Of course, what people mean is that they wish to converse with animals the way they do with humans. But I find that if you actually pay attention to animals, they are pretty good at describing what they need. And that goes triple for African Grey Parrots.
The African Grey Parrot in this video is amazing at getting what she wants—especially if what she wants is a nice, soothing cup of chamomile tea. Whenever she wants a cup of tea, Jack the rescue African Grey stands near the kettle and makes sounds like she’s coughing and clearing her throat. Obviously, the poor baby is suffering and tea is the only thing that is going to make it better.
While the kettle is boiling, she stands at its side, banging her head against the metal in enthusiasm and even copying the sounds of the hissing, bubbling machinery.
It’s an adorable display that only reveals how marvelously skilled these animals are at the art of mimicry.
**All About the African Grey Parrot**
African Greys, as the name indicates, are native to the Congo region of Central Africa, where their biggest predators are humans, who capture tens of thousands of them every year for pet trading as well as folk medicines. Over sixty percent of the parrots captured for the pet trade die during transport.
African Grey Parrots are very popular pets due primarily to their sociable nature and marvelous knack for mimicry. Not only will they copy the voices of people around them, learning dozens and even hundreds of words, but they will also copy sounds they hear (like the boiling of kettles) and use it to communicate. They do this in place of the specialized familial flock calls they would have in the wild. African Grey Parrots kept in large groups in captivity form their own “language” of calls. In fact, there have been times when Greys with “offensive” language issues have been put in larger flocks to help “dilute” their bank of bad words.
**African Grey Parrot Diet and Care**
African Grey parrots may be fed commercial parrot pellets as well as a large variety of fruit and vegetables. Fresh fruits are an important part of their diets and should not be skipped. They also need a source of calcium. But the occasional treat, such as chamomile tea, is okay to give them as well.
Most importantly, African Greys need socialization. They need over five hours of companionship, enrichment, and activity every day. They are not a parrot who can be content sitting around in a cage but instead a very active, intelligent creature who needs to be with others and have their emotional and developmental needs met.
