Senegal parrots eat seeds, fruits and flowers. They have strong, hooked beaks that can crack open tough seeds — a bit like a nutcracker built into their face. They also use their beak like a third hand to help them climb along branches. If you watch one eating, it often holds food in one foot while it bites with its beak, looking remarkably like a person using both hands.
These parrots are very intelligent. In the wild they learn to recognise the calls of individual members of their flock, and they remember good feeding places and return to them. They are curious about new things and like to investigate objects with their beak and feet. In captivity they can learn to copy human sounds and words, though a wild Senegal parrot in a tree is a far more impressive sight.
Senegal parrots nest in holes in trees. Both parents share the job of incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks. Young parrots stay close to their parents for many months while they learn where to find food, how to avoid predators and which calls mean danger.
In Gambia you can hear their chattering calls in the morning as flocks move through woodland and scrubby areas near the river. Birdwatchers visiting Gambia often list the Senegal parrot as one of their favourite sightings because its colours are so vivid against the green leaves.