Grey Parrot

About the Grey Parrot

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, is an African parrot in the family Psittacidae. Psittacus erithacus was previously also known as the African grey parrot until the Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh), previously treated as a subspecies, was elevated to a full species. The grey parrot is known for its intelligence, being considered one of the smartest bird species and is regarded for its speaking abilities.

The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae. He placed it with all other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa. The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart.

The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but is now considered a separate species based mainly on results from a genetic and... Wikipedia →