Members

Poicephalus parrots are small to medium sized parrots with short, squarish tails that originate from Africa ("Old-world" parrots).

Members of the Genus Poicephalus include:

• Brown-Headed
• Cape/Un-Cape
• Jardine's
• Meyer's
• Niam-Niam
• Red-Bellied
• Ruppell's
• Senegal
• Yellow-Faced

The Most commonly kept, however, are the Meyer's, Senegal, and Red-Bellied. Less commonly kept are the Brown-Headed and Jardine's, and the other members are rarely seen in captivity.

-Hillari




Personality

I personally think Poicephalus parrots are one of the most under-appreciated companion birds out there! They have the "big parrot" personality without all the extra hassle. They are playful, often jumping around and rolling on their backs during play, hanging from toys and just being silly in general. They are affectionate, my Senegal goes nuts for head scritches, and even enjoys it when I pet him under the wings. He will let me pet him for hours, if I had the patience. They are "quiet" (of course that is a relative term). Just like any parrot, they can be noisy at times, but in general are much quieter than other birds such as Macaws, Cockatoos, and even Conures. They are also independent birds, they don't generally have the possession issues that other birds do. In other words, they would love to play with you but are perfectly content to entertain themselves if need be. I have found this especially true with my Senegal. He can play by himself without needing me to be there. They also have decent talking ability. They don't have the vocabulary of a Grey or Amazon, but most Poi's learn at least a few words and phrases. Red-Bellied parrots in particular are known to be good talkers. All in all, I think the Poicephalus is a perfect little package for any parrot lover!

-Hillari

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Diet

My Senegal Parrot gets a Zupreem pellet mix. I mix 75% of the Natural Diet and 25% of the FruitBlend Flavor. There are also Lafeber's NutriBerries and peanuts in some foraging toys in his cage at all times. I give fresh and frozen fruits and veggies as much as I can (about 4 times a week or more). Right now she gets mainly mango, blueberries, apple, oranges, and a frozen veggie mix that I take most of the corn out of. At the human family's dinner time she might get something from our meal if it is not loaded with salt and preservatives.

-furies80
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Housing

My Senegal Parrot is in a 22"W X 24"L X 30"H cage. That is the size without the play top. She has a rope boing, a rock perch, and 4 differant texture perches. Right now she only gets about 2 hours out of her cage because we have a new puppy.

-furies80
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Toys

My Senegal Parrot has 2 foraging toys, 1 acrylic noisemaker, 2 rope chew toys, a loofa, a wood ladder thing :), a wood abacus, a mineral block filled with peanuts, 2 rawhide balls, a crinkle ball (sold as cat toys) and a plastic chain. She has been playing with her wood ladder and her abacus. She doesn't really like to play much. Her mineral block has the peanuts pulled out and sits untouched now. :( Hopefully I will be changing her cage around very soon so she can have new toys put in.

-furies80
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