The Senegal Parrot is a member of the Poicephalus Family. This family includes Meyer's, Red-bellied, Brown-headed, Jardines, Cape, Ruppells, Yellow-faced and Niam-Naim Parrot. The average lifespan is 35-40 years. They are all compact in size with blunt tails and originate from Africa. The Senegal, from my experience, is a big bird in a little package. They are outgoing, inquisitive, social and yet can be left alone to play contentedly in their cage provided they have adequate toys. My Senegal loves her beads. They are hooked from one side of her cage to the other with a section that hangs down loose. She will leap from her perch to the beads and spin around like a crazy baboon laughing in my voice! She is excellent at mimicry. She has picked up many sounds including the creaky door, DVD remote beep, whistles, sneezes and coughs. She also has a fairly good vocabulary including "night-night" "yummies" "good bird" "be a good bird" "step-up" "crazy bird" and "your crazy" which is always followed with a laugh! She also has an evil side. She is a one person bird and loves to taunt my husband. She will call him over and act so sweet bending her head down as if to ask for a little scratch and when he falls for it CHOMP followed by the evil little laugh she does so well!
UPDATE Oct. 30, 2006
Kya is almost 3 now and has become the best parrot of the bunch.....to me at least. (Kya still hates my husband and he isn't terribly fond of getting a chomp either) She is quiet, intelligent and very comical! Her vocabulary has improved and she now has a repatoir of whistles she mixes into the bunch. The best new phrase she has is "Kimba! That's enough!". She says this right after Kimba the Eclectus has a scream. Its really funny because Kimba usually stops screaming!
Kya - DOH February 4, 2004
Weight - 144 grams
Lenght - 8 1/2" head to tail tip
Eclectus Parrot
Eclectus roratus roratus
There are 10 subspecies to the Eclectus Parrot the most common being The Grand Eclectus, Vosmaer's Eclectus, Red-Sided Eclectus and Solomon Island Eclectus. They have an average lifespan of 70+ years. Eclectus parrots have very unique plumage as their feathers do not have barbs to hold the shape of the feather. This almost gives the illusion of a fur instead of feathers. Another unique point of this parrot is the coloring of the genders. The male is mainly a green bird while the female is a vibrant red/purple combination. They are a fairly large bird compared to the Senegal but not overwhelmingly so. Eclectus parrots are very intelligent and
require lots of stimulation and interaction with the family or they have a tendency to become bored. My Eclectus is still a very young bird and has not quite grasped the English language! Everything to her is still in baby talk as she learns to form the words. Recently I heard a clear "good bird" from her and I think it surprised her as much as me! She cocked her head sideways as if to say "who said that?" My Eclectus is very much a cuddly bird. She would spend every moment of every day on my shoulder if I let her. She can be quite loud at times and the concept of patience is taking forever to learn.
UPDATE Oct. 30, 2006
Well Kimba is going on 2 now and just so everyone knows parrots have the terrible two's also! She suddenly decided that the t-stand she usually plays on so well isn't where she wants to be and went to investigate the bookshelf......the poor BirdTalk magazine didn't have a chance! Not only did she attack the poor magazine but my water bottle and the alarm clock didn't put up much of a fight either. Along with her new love of destroying things she has begun to speak much more clearly. She now says "good bird" "pretty bird" "Kimba step up" "out please" and "what are you doing?".
Kimba - DOH February 28, 2005
Weight - 379 grams
Lenght - 13 1/2" head to tail tip
Indian Ringnecked Parrot
Psittacula krameri manillensis
The Indian Ringnecked Parrot is one of many Asiatic Parrots in the genus Psittacula. They are larger than the senegal but smaller than the Eclectus and have a long pointy tail. As the name indicates the male birds have a ring around the neck area which does not appear until the second moult. In the wild they are found in large flocks but when kept in aviculture it is best to keep them singly if a social pet is wanted. IRN's (for short) are an excellent bird to have in a breeding situation as they have a multitude of colors and mutations available. Everything from the normal green variety to
blue, grey, lutino, albino, cinnamon, cleartail, lacewing and everything in between! Currently I have a breeding pair of Blues in which the hen is 9 years old and the cock is 6 years old. This is their first full season together. When they were first introduced last spring they laid a clutch of five eggs none of which were fertile. This November they laid their first clutch of the season with four eggs all fertile. Two of the four eggs did hatch out but the parents lack of experience resulted in the clutch being lost. I'll be prepared next time to pull the babies for hand raising if the parents are not co-operating.
I've sold the Ringnecks to a reputable breeder as we are moving from Calgary, Alberta back to northern Ontario.
Sun Conure
Aratinga solstitialis
The Sun Conure originates from Brazil and Venezuela, South America.
Louy - DOH FAugust 28, 2005
Weight - 109 grams
Lenght - 12" head to tail tip
African Grey
Psittacus erithacus
The African Grey parrot originates from Africa as the name indicates. There are 2 sub-species consisting of the Congo Grey Psittacus erithacus erithacus which are larger birds of about 12 inches long with light grey feathers, deep red tails and black beaks and the Timneh Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus timneh which are smaller in size, have a darker charcoal gray coloring, a darker maroon tail, and a light, horn colored upper mandible.
The african grey parrot is thought to be the most intelligent of all birds. Because of thier extreme intelegence they require a lot of stimulating toys to avoid boredom and feather picking. If kept in their cage for long periods of time, thier toys should be rotated and switched regularly to keep the stimulation constant and diverse.
I am now the proud new owner of a special little Congo Aftrican Grey named Ngozi (his African name means Blessing), but we call him Goose for his baby honk! He was hatched in nest with his parents and pulled by a breeder for hand raising. Shortly thereafter a spinal deformity that curves his spine in the wrong direction was noticed and the breeder asked if I would give him a home when he was ready. How could I refuse after looking into those big black eyes!
