Greys are highly social birds. In the wild, they are always found in the company of their own kind, either living as a flock (which can number many hundreds of birds) or as pairs of birds in their forest habitat. As they wake up each morning, the birds will get ready to set off in search of food found elsewhere in the forest. At this time the birds call to each other with a repertoire of whistles, squawks and harsh screeching noises. Soon they leave their roosting site and fly to the first feeding sites which may be many kilometres away. As with many other birds, when watching the flock, you can clearly see that most birds fly as pairs, with the same two birds staying close to each other during flight and when alighting. Other greys which are breeding in the area will join this flock and they feed communally for much of the daytime, often flying considerable distances between feeding sites. Grey parrots fly fast at around 65kph (40mph) so they can cover many hundreds of kilometres each week as they search out their favourite foods throughout their habitat.
Greys eat a wide range of foods
Their main sources of food are the fruits, nuts, flowers, leaves and seeds they find on a range of forest trees, including palm trees. When feeding in the trees they use their strong feet, aided by their equally strong beak as an extra 'hand' to climb amongst the branches as they feed. They have a range of techniques for dealing with different foods. Seeds and small nuts are easily cracked open with their powerful crushing beak and larger nuts and fruits can be held in one foot as they use their beak to get at the most nutritious parts. Tender shoots and leaves form part of their diet and they can easily climb out to reach these on the tips of the tree branches. Soft fruit is also eaten, sometimes by the bird mashing up the fruit pulp with its beak and just drinking up the juice. The birds also come down to the ground occasionally to feed on certain plants which ensures they obtain their essential minerals, including calcium. In addition to this, they also eat small quantities of soil which is believed to aid their digestion.
<-- Wild greys come down to the ground for some food, but they are very nervous when doing so.
Greys are expert climbers and can reach the tender shoots and leaves at the end of a branch. -->
Greys are expert climbers and can reach the tender shoots and leaves at the end of a branch. -->
