Conservation Status

According to IUCN red list: VULNERABLE

Current Population trend: Decreasing

Widely known for their ability to vocalize, speech mimicry and long life span, the African Grey parrot has been considered one of the most valuable and popular caged birds. This popularity paired with intelligence has contributed to their species’ continuing population decline. Psittacus erithacus is considered to be a vulnerable species because of a recent analysis suggesting that up to 21% of the global population may be harvested annually. This species is listed in Appendix II of CITES. Appendix II includes a list of species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but require trade control in order to maintain a sustainable population. Unfortunately, there are few laws prohibiting capture and trade of African Grey parrots. While trade controls offer some level of curtailment in the legitimate trade of greys, illegal trafficking and smuggling poses a challenge.