The African Grey Parrot
From the Editor
Bloody Tears in African Greys
An Angel Among Us-XI
When and How to Clip A Weaning Baby
Principe, You Say?
From One Breeder to Another - The African Grey
Parrot-Part 1
Poicephalus Q & A
From the Co-editor
African Grey Parrot
Psittacus erithacus erithacus
(Photo by Isabel Taylor)
The African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus, is very common both as a pet and as part
of a breeding collection. Everyone with any interest in parrots knows the shy grey birds
with the bright red tails and featherless white faces. Greys have a worldwide reputation
as intelligent pets with great talking ability.
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African greys make delightful pets if they are properly trained. They will live for at
least thirty years and become much more than just pets. Greys grow and learn new things
throughout their life. Their ability to understand and relate to the family are equaled by
very few other animals.
Breeder pairs offer a totally different perspective on greys, but the first fertile egg make all the effort worthwhile. I have seen many pairs start to produce and each egg is still a thrill. Every infertile egg presents a new challenge that demands my involvement. Some pairs challenge me every year. Other pairs have taken five years to turn their efforts from infertile eggs to producing healthy babies. Many breeders cannot understand how I can be content to breed only the grey, white and red birds. That is easy. Each one is a totally unique bird. Like the children at a private school, they just happen to dress in the same uniform.
God bless the makers of
Cool Whip bowls!
(Photo by Randy Karg)
Dear APS members,
I would like to start off by saying that I am sorry we don’t have more pet
information in this issue of The Ark. Many members feel they have nothing to contribute.
They feel they don’t have enough experience, or anything exceptional to write about.
That is exactly how I once felt, but there are many stories and anecdotes that could and
should be shared. I would like to ask again that everyone out there just think for a
minute of one little thing that brought a smile to your lips, or a tear to your eye and
get out a pen and paper and write about it. We don’t learn unless we share.
As some of you may know Isabel and I attended the AAV conference here in Tampa this
past September. Number one on the list of speakers was Dr. Irene Pep–perberg giving a
lecture about her work with Alex. One thing I was particularly glad to hear is why greys
take so long to really start talking. I just learned from the internet that they are
starting a branch group that is working with timneh greys. It appears timnehs may learn
faster than the African grey. Good old number two just has to try harder I guess.
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MARE (Midwest Avian research Expo) will be held in Louisville, KY, in the month of July. I
will be giving a lecture on Poicephalus parrots. We will have an open African Parrot
Society meeting at this expo and all are invited to attend. Details to follow, or feel
free to call me.
Our APS web page is getting better all the time. If you haven’t already, check it out.
The article on wing clipping will be added to the web site. If you know any one wanting information on the proper wing clip for African birds, send them there.
We have been getting many of requests for lots of articles on the small Poicephalus
parrots. I think the grey issue is going to spill over into the next and we will also run
some things on the four little guys. Our survey results should appear in the next issue of
The Ark also.
Jean
There is a peculiar syndrome that avian veterinarians see related specifically to
African grey parrots. It is bloody tears. Have any of you noticed that when your breeder
or pet grey is properly restrained for examination it may develop red tears in one or both
eyes? I have not seen this reported in any other species of bird, and in actuality, there
is very little written in the scientific literature about this condition.
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But African greys do certainly produce bloody tears, and at this time, the cause still
remains a mystery. It may be multifactorial. It is not a normal condition, but it does not
always indicate terrible illness. Maybe the birds have seen Evita (don’t cry for me,
Argentina...).
Spring Fever
Just like the last two years, Angel, my vasa, experienced physical changes. Her cere
turned black, she lost nearly a two inch circle of feathers on top of her head, her beak
became white, and the skin on her head, eyes, and around her beak turned yellow. This year
I also noticed that her beak widened and flattened, and I realized when I noticed these
particular changes, that I had, in fact, seen them last year. I did not have any awareness
of them. Unlike last year, Angel did not develop a pouch under her chin and her vent did
not swell.
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When Angel experiences spring fever, she can be loud and sometimes annoying in her
demands. From tine to time, I cover her for five to ten minutes until she calms down.
While I was disinfecting water dishes, my vasa decided that she needed my attention right
away and would not cease squawking. In frustration I covered her cage with a bright towel
and returned to the kitchen sink. From under the cover, Angel shouted, "Help, help,
help!" over and over again. I laughed so hard that I had to uncover her. I have no
idea where Angel picked up this word, and I am amazed that she used it appropriately. I
still giggle when I think about this incident.
One day, this past winter, I was answering the phone at work (in a veterinary hospital)
when I was very surprised to hear the woman on the other end of the phone ask for an
appointment for her bird, "an African grey Principe." While making the
appointment I was busting to ask, "How do you know it is a Principe?" When I had
a chance to ask, she informed me she lived on the island of Principe (her husband worked
there) and bought the grey there as a baby and brought him to the U.S. when they moved
back here. The bird was two years old and was pulling out some feathers. When the day for
her appointment arrived, I got to work early with a camera in hand. However it snowed and
she canceled. I was very disappointed but she did make another appointment weeks later and
at last I saw the bird. I was very surprised for it looked very similar to any other grey
(Psittacus, erithacus erithacus) I had seen. The gray feathers that were left appeared to
be a light gray. I could not have distinguished it from the nominate race if I had not
known that it was the genuine subspecies, Psittacus erithacus principe.
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I strongly recommend that each one of us read again the front pages of Forshaw’s
Parrots of the World . Very interesting information is included in the acknowledgments,
preface and introduction which has a description of how he chose the English names to use
and the classification of parrots, including definitions of species and subspecies. When
Forshaw wrote this book in 1977, his opinion of aviculturists was not positive or
supportive. He says that "aviculturists have often presented incomplete or carelessly
compiled data". I hope his opinion of us has changed, but I have often encountered
this type of derogatory opinion within the scientific community. One of the best ways to
counteract this is to be as scientific as we can and to acknowledge that all who are
involved with parrots need to work together for their survival so that they may flourish
both in captivity and in the wild.
P. S.–A couple of weeks ago, the owner of the Principe grey called and asked if I would take this bird. I now have a very sweet, plucked, four year old Principe grey parrot. I’ll let you know more about her and the island she came from in the next issue. I have asked Zoogen and Avian Biotech if they could tell the difference in DNA of subspecies. They do not have that technology. Does anyone know more about this? We could have a lot of questions answered about subspecies if this could be done and we really do need this. Please let me know if you have any information. I can be reached at 704- 298-9263. Many thanks.
Grey at 3 months old
(Photo by Gwen Williams)
The most important first step to success in breeding is a healthy pair of birds. Birds
that have malformed feathers or feces containing undigested food may be seriously ill.
Some other signs of ill health are fluffed birds, sitting low on the perch, respiratory
sounds, tail bobbing, swelling or discharge of the eyes or nares, pasted vent, abnormal
color of urine, urates or feces—some foods can cause staining.
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Avian Medicine: Principles & Application by Ritchie, Harrison & Harrison
recommends the following temperatures (all degrees F.):
Day one chicks should be brooded at 95-97 degrees for the first week of life
They further advise the actual temperature should be adjusted according to the needs of the individual chick. Feather eruption is discussed in very general terms. Feather growth occurs rapidly in neonatal birds and follows a set pattern that varies among species. In general, feather growth starts with the head, wings and tail, followed by feather emergence on the rest of the body.
Q. I had heard one of your lectures and you stated the Poicephalus
displayed a defensiveness to their territory. You talked mainly about the Senegals,
Meyer’s and red- bellied. I would like to know if this is also true with the cape
parrot? Sue
A. Your timing is perfect. I recently set up two pair of capes, and let them have about three and one half feet of space between their cages. The two pair seemed not to be interested in their neighbors except for an occasional shouting match. I then set a third pair up and placed them between the original two pair. The display was very surprising.
Q. My African grey is almost nine months old and all he does is just mumble. Every one tells me they start to talk at about a year old, is this true and why? Jeff
A. There is an ocassional grey that starts talking younger than a year but those are far and few between. At the AAV convention Irene Pepperberg touched on the reasons why greys take so long to talk. It was expained that the words are formed with muscles.
For all you Poicephalus lovers out there, I want to tell you about a t-shirt that I really love! The shirt features original artwork of a Senegal parrot and is by Deborah Stender Davis. Deborah is a breeder specializing in African species and a self-taught artist who, in 1991, began her artistic career of painting parrots. The Senegal tee is high quality and retails for $19.99 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. (Maine residents add 6% sales tax.) If anyone would like to order a t-shirt from Deborah, call 207. 985.1949 or write, RR #1, Box 1830, Kennebunk, ME 04043.
I would like to address a problem that has been brought to my attention concerning membership renewals and new members. I guarantee that I will make mistakes! Editing The Ark and keeping the database updated is not my regular line of work and sometimes I may enter the members and forget to send a newsletter or update the membership. If anyone feels that a mistake has been made, please get in touch with me and I will do everything possible to correct the problem.
The majority of members are very understanding but occasionally I get an irate letter. Please, folks, remember The Ark is a not-for-profit organization and everyone connected with it works on their own time with no compensation. The excellent articles that our members contribute are submitted to share and expand our experience and knowledge of the African species. These writers receive no financial compensation and do this work out of kindness. How do we demand that these caring people get articles to us by a deadline when all we can do is say, "thank you"?
Gary Blankenbiller, our APS Web Master, needs more photographs of greys and Senegals for the web page. You will be given full credit for any photo submitted and used. Please send your photos to the APS address.
Brother Gabriel Rivet, O.S.B
and Jocko