African grey parrots can learn to recognise and repeat hundreds of different sounds, including human words. But what makes them truly remarkable is that they can sometimes use words in the right context — asking for food, saying hello when they hear a door open, or copying the exact tone of someone's voice. A famous African grey named Alex, studied by scientist Dr Irene Pepperberg, could identify colours, shapes, and even count small numbers of objects.
In the wild, African greys spend most of their time high up in the forest canopy. They are not easy to spot against the grey-green light of the treetops, despite the flash of their red tail when they fly. They are very social birds and communicate with each other through a wide range of squawks, whistles, and calls — each flock seems to have its own 'vocabulary'.
African grey parrots take a long time to grow up — they do not reach full maturity until they are about four or five years old, which is unusual for a bird. They also form very strong bonds with their flock mates and are rarely seen alone in the wild. Scientists studying parrot intelligence believe that their need to communicate in complex social groups is one of the reasons their brains evolved to be so clever.