African Grey Congo behavior

The African Grey Congo is a beautiful, intelligent parrot, that would make a wonderful addition to your family, as long as you understand their capabilities and have the patience to give them all that they need. Owning a parrot is something that takes lots of love and time, in order to have a good relationship with them. They have definite needs, and if fulfilled, you will have a lifelong friend.

There are many attributes to sharing your world with an African Grey Congo. They have the intelligence level of a five-year-old, yet the emotional level of a two-year-old. It is quite like having a perpetual toddler in your home. If unattended they have enough abilities to get themselves in trouble, so it is always important to keep an eye on them. Nevertheless, they love to interact with their family, and will like to be everywhere you are, whether at the kitchen table, or taking a shower. In the wild, the African Grey is a flock bird, so you and your family are their flock in their eyes. They want to be with you as much as possible. They do not necessarily have to be on you to interact but like to be included in the family activities whether it be watching TV or cleaning the house, as long as they are involved some way, they are happy. The African Grey is known for its talking ability. They usually begin talking anywhere from 3 months to 1 year of age. They are excellent mimics, and have the ability to not only repeat words and sentences, but just about any sound that is a regular in your household. Telephones, microwave beeps, coffeepots are easy for them to imitate. They can have in their repertoire as much as 2000 words. Not only do they speak just as if the person they are imitating is standing right there, they also can feel what we are feeling and are capable of reacting to our emotions. The do not always just repeat, they can understand some of what they say, by knowing the right response what is spoken to them. The African Grey Congo is without a doubt, very talented, but they are also very skittish. They are cautious of strangers, they have to be eased into new toys and new situations, but if you approach them quietly and calmly winning their trust, they can adapt and be very happy with their human family members. Once they trust you, they are so loyal, and love to have the back of their heads scratched. They will even snuggle under your chin, which is more likely to happen at the end of the day, when they are almost ready for sleep and relaxed.