Trivia question for Oct-11-2011

Carter likes these birds and was amazed to learn that these can establish a roost with between 5,000 and 10,000 of these birds all gathering at night at an oil palm plantation in Gabon.

Experts regard these birds as one of the most intelligent birds. They feed primarily on palm nuts, seeds, fruits, leafy matter, but have been observed eating snails. Their overall gentle nature and their inclination and ability to mimic speech have made them popular pets. This has led many to be captured from the wild and sold into the pet trade. Like many large parrots, these guys are long-lived bird. The Animal Aging and Longevity Database states the maximum reliably recorded longevity for the species as being that of a bird still alive in captivity at the age of 49.7 years. Also acknowledged are claims of captive birds reaching the ages of 73 and 93, whereas the World Parrot Trust lists a longevity of 50-60 years for this species in captivity.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what this bird is and where they can be found in their natural range?  Also, these guys are famous for mimicking all kids of sounds, in particular those of various objects.  Tell us a few of the objects they can replicate the sound from?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Ty Weng for being the first to answer and also to Mary Lanis from Chicago, IL and Mindy Matheny from Madison, Wisconsin for also sending in correct answers to the trivia. Well done everyone. The cute bird we featured is the African Gray Parrot.   The African Grey Parrot, also known as the Grey Parrot, is a medium-sized parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa. Experts regard it as one of the most intelligent birds.

As for listing a few of the items they are famous for imitating, here are a few: Cracking Doors, Ringing Telephones, Doorbells, Answering Machines, Beepers and Microwaves, and even Dial-Tones and Busy Signals.  And as Mindy so correctly pointed out “it is unwise to keep them in your bedroom”.  Here is more on these mimicking birds: African Gray Parrot

Thanks for playing along 😉