All The Secrets of Senegal Parrots

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     The senegal parrot is native to west Africa. On average it is twenty three centimeters long and weighs in at 125 to 170 grams, with the males larger and heavier than the females. The adults of a ash grey head, yellow eyes, green back and neck, and a yellow underside which when combined with the green back and neck make the Senegal parrot appear to be wearing a yellow vest over a green shirt.

This vest is often times used to distinguish male from female (green tip extends down further on females) and distinguish the three recognized subspecies of the Senegal parrot. The nominate subspecies being senegalus which has the yellow vest and is native to Mauritania, southern Mali, Guinea, and the Island of Los. P. s. Mesotypus has an orange vest and is native to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. Finaly P. s. versteri has a red vest and is native to Cote d'lvoire, Ghana, and Nigeria.

In its native habitat it will nest in holes in trees, often inside Oil Palms (moderate sized palm trees used in the production of Palm Oil), where it will lay 2-3 small(3cm x 2.5cm) white eggs. It has a average wild lifespan of 25-30 years compared to 50 years in captivity.

Senegal Parrots in captivity

The Senegal parrot has only recently come into being bred as pets, but has quickly become the most popular pet in aviculture. As pets they can live to be 40 or 50 years old. The diet should consist of seeds and fruits, much like other parrots.

They are said to make excellent pets because they are curious, and fun loving. They seem to be much calmer than many of the other parrots commonly bred as pets. There speech imitation capabilities are limited, but are very quick to learn how to mimic whistles,` kisses, smoke alarms, and microwave beeps, however none of these are very loud.

Senegal parrots are known for the jealousy of other people and pets around the household. They will sometimes develop a bond between only one human and will not interact with anyone else and may even develop a bitterness or anger towards other people, in some cases attacking them. The bond developed between bird and human can also cause the bird to attack things much larger than it, such as people or dogs, if it feels its human is being threatened. For this reason perspective buyers of the Senegal parrot should be cautious in multi-pet homes and are encourages to socialize with the bird and let many people handle which will keep it from a single person bond and make it a much better household pet.