African Grey - Little known Facts??

[danmcq]

I thought I would see what interesting facts this topic might bring out about African Greys.

 

I will start by positing a question. Later I will give the correct answer and give a karma to those answering correctly. :-)

 

Q - African Greys are known to sometimes do a very strange and unusual thing, what is it?

 

A - They can cry a tear of an orange pigmentation when stressed or restrained.

 

B -They grow red feathers on their back when in reproductive mode.

 

C - They lay brown eggs when they are getting very old.

 

D - They can swim underwater like a duck.

[judygram]

Not sure if this is multiple choice but it looks like it, the answer is A, they can cry a reddish tear when stressed or restrained.

 

This is a wonderful topic Dan and a good way to learn some more interesting facts about our precious greys, karma coming your way for thinking of it.

[Notsu]

Answer is A. I have heard of this but did not know if it was true or not. How sad to be that stressed to cause something like that to happen. Hope to never see it happen!

[Mistyparrot]

I think the answer is Q. We all know how strange and wonderful they can be.

 

Steve n Misty

[she]

I think A is the answer. I have read this before but cant remember where.

[rierie]

wow i havent heard that, interesting, but I dont want to see charlie that upset...

[casper]

I think the answer is A:)

[DavidH]

I'm going with none of the above, Dan -- just to be a contrarian

[Luvparrots]

Answer is A.

[Mistyparrot]

I am voting for C. I can just imagine Misty with a diving helmet and flippers.

He certainly has a big thing about water. He talks about it more than anything elseB)

 

Steve N Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/02/14 22:02

[Rachel218]

I think i'm gonna say A

[ajlinva]

I say A too - read it before

[Carolyn]

I have read somewhere that A is the answer.

 

Carolyn & Mika

[danmcq]

Well, I owe several of you well informed forumites a Karma. :-)

 

Some of the others I am giving one also for their creativeness. They made me laugh and that is invaluable!!

 

I am hoping that I will not be the only one posting facts here. ;-)

 

Do your research and post a question with multiple answers as my first example.

 

Heres another to keep you busy while I'm giving all this Karma. :-)

 

Q - African Grey Parrots are not as colorful as others from different parts of the world because....:

 

A - There are lots of predators in African and the non-coloring hides them better.

 

B - It's not for camouflage, but due to the lack of all the colorful fruits and flowers that exists in other parts of the world.

 

C - Camouflage seems a valid reason, but it's really still a mystery as to why they are 95% Grey.

 

D - All the above.

[ajlinva]

C makes sense to me ----

[Mistyparrot]

I suspect the main reason is A because they like to forage on the ground so grey is a better camouflage.

The other reason is they would not be African Greys if they were any other colour.

Also If they were American they would be called American Grays

 

{Characters-0002007B}

 

Steve n Misty

[DavidH]

Grey and white are great colors for a big flock in a cloudy sky. Looks like a big cloud. Parrots also have specific flight moves (styles) to avoid predators. Brown and green seem like better colors on the ground, however.

 

But I go with "all of the above," since color typically serves multiple functions in birds. Another function is simply distinguishing themselves from other birds and to each other. Greys do not fly in flocks with other parrots (unlike a lot of South American parrots).

 

Color can also be used for status in the group, sexual display (shake a tail feather), and other signaling.

 

They also apparently see colors (ultra-violet spectrum) that we don't.

 

Another interesting fact is that albino "greys" appear and survive in the wild.

[PrettyPax]

If I had to guess I'd go with either "A" or "C". I'm not quite sure what you meant by "the lack of colorful fruits and flowers that exist in other parts of the world".

Am I being obtuse?

 

However, I think you've posted some awesome questions though, Dan. I didn't know Greys cried in orange.

[dhorje]

I'll go for C.

[Notsu]

C makes the most sence to me. So I hope it has some truth to it! LoL;)

[Sallas]

Are A and C not the same answer for the most part?

[SunnyBird]

D all of the above and E none of the above....

 

Who says that AGs are gray? We humans don't really know what color they are since they see each other quite differently...

 

See the quote from this url for instance: http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/behavior/icc_vis.htm

 

"Colour Vision in Birds

Bird colour vision differs from that of humans in two main ways. First, birds can see ultraviolet light. It appears that UV vision is a general property of diurnal birds, having been found in over 35 species using a combination of microspectrophotometry, electrophysiology, and behavioural methods. So, are birds like bees? Bees, like humans, have three receptor types, although unlike humans they are sensitive to ultraviolet light, with loss of sensitivity at the red end of the spectrum. This spectral range is achieved by having a cone type that is sensitive to UV wavelengths, and two that are sensitive to "human visible" wavelengths. Remember, because 'colour' is the result of differences in output of receptor types, this means that bees do not simply see additional 'UV colours', they will perceive even human-visible spectra in different hues to those which humans experience. Fortunately, as any nature film crew knows, we can gain an insight to the bee colour world by converting the blue, red and green channels of a video camera into UV, blue and green channels. Bees are trichromatic, like humans, so the three dimensions of bee colour can be mapped onto the three dimensions of human colour. With birds, and indeed many other non-mammalian vertebrates, life is not so simple. As well as seeing very well in the ultraviolet, all bird species that have been studied have at least four types of cone. They have four, not three, dimensional colour vision. Recent studies have confirmed tetra-chromacy in some fish and turtles, so perhaps we should not be surprised about this. It is mammals, including humans, that have poor colour vision! Whilst UV reception increases the range of wavelengths over which birds can see, increased dimensionality produces a qualitative change in the nature of colour perception that probably cannot be translated into human experience. Bird colours are not simply refinements of the hues that humans, or bees, see, these are hues unknown to any trichromat."

 

So we really don't have a clue, do we?

 

Cheers,

Renate

[LindaMary]

I'm thinking C - and I love Renate's answer.

 

What a great thread, Dan! B)

[danmcq]

Ok, the answer is ....... "C".

 

The reason being, is that scientists and we just do not know other than that is how they were evolved/created depending upon how you believe.

 

Others made great points regarding our Avian friends being able to see UV spectrum of light and could appear "Brilliantly" colored. I was actually trying to "Fluoresce" Dayo a few days ago and he DID NOT like the Black Light at all. Needless to say, I could not get with in 5 feet of him. :-)

 

However, if you wish to discuss the camouflage theory, one thing to remember is that most animals have no UV capability at all, so there coloring really would not be much of a "Blend-in" color in green trees, green vegetation etc.

 

I'm just sticking with "we don't know".......some things are just speculation by us and scientists..

 

Here is a link of a few different species of Parrots Fluoresced. One thing to note: since they can see both in our visible range and UV, remember that these fluoresced birds will not appear like that to another bird. They are in a completely darkened room with only Black Light s a source. IN the open sun, the birds would see an overlap of both visible and UV colorations mixed together.

 

http://amonline.net.au/birds/stuff/glowing_parrots02.htm

 

Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/02/16 15:46<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/02/16 15:57

[danmcq]

Ok, Jesus...no one else is picking up the adding of facts here...so here's another:

 

Q - In African Grey.....:

 

A. Is a monogamous bird, nesting solitarily in a tree with a hole for her eggs.

 

B. They do not mimic, they learn from us. You must teach your Grey as you would a child....intelligently with purpose.

 

C. They are cautious birds. They have a tendency to sit back and watch you, before giving themselves up freely to you.

 

D. They are very intuitive to your feelings and it is always best to approach them with a calm demeanor.

 

E. They can growl very similar to a Lion when warning in a stressful situation. (I don't mean Screaming as they do)

 

F. Their Talons "Lock" automatically once wrapped around a perch and they must mentally think to unlock them. Thus they do not fall off the perch when sleeping.

 

G. All the above.