Animal-World > Birds > Miscellaneous Parrots > Senegal Parrot

Senegal ParrotSenegal Parrot

Family: Psittacidae

• Puzzles
• Postcards

"Clover"Poicephalus senegalusPhoto Courtesy: Darwin Wagner

  Senegals are known for their acrobatics, their mischievousness, and their passion!

     Senegals are much quieter birds than many of the smaller, more colorful and popular parrots like the conures in the Aratinga genus. For this reason they make ideal pets for apartment or condominium living.
     They are an interesting bird that likes routine and become accustomed to the habits of their owners. Senegals learn human speech quite easily. Their voices are softer, quieter and gentler than their larger african cousins like the African Grey. They usually acquire a moderate vocabulary although some can have a more extensive list of words and phrases. Most will develop an understanding of several common phrases like "step up". Of course the best way to teach a parrot to talk is to talk to it!

To learn more about Parrot Care visit:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Bird

Scientific name: Poicephalus senegalus

Description:      Senegal Parrots are probably the most popular of the Poicephalus parrots which includes Meyer's, Red-bellied, and Jardine's parrots. They are attractive and intelligent little birds that are highly social and live in flocks in the wild. They are from central and eastern Africa. In the wild, breeding is after the rainy season, from September through November.      The Senegal's head is gray, with a mostly green body. The breast and belly ranges in color from lime-yellow to deep orange. The body markings form a "V" with a green point running down the breast bone. There are some who say they can be sexed based on color, but this is very unreliable, especially when they are young. Others believe they can be sexed by their behavior, with females being shy and retiring and males being bolder and more aggressive. This is not very reliable either since there are bold hens and shy males. Juvenile birds have dark brown eyes, while adults eye color ranges from silvery yellow to orange.

Housing:      Provide a roomy cage with the minimum dimensions of: 20" long x 20" deep x 28" high. Preferably a cage with horizontal bars about 3/4 inch apart to make climbing easier. The individual senegal's needs should be taken into account if possible. For instance, if the bird is going to spend most of its time in the cage without being taken out frequently, a larger cage might be better, while a bird that is handled allot could do with a smaller one.      It has been observed that wooden toys are favorites of senegals. Wooden ladders, chew toys, and wooden hanging toys seem to be preferred, most anything made of wood.      You can also attach a perch/play area on top of the cage. In the cage have about three perches of different diameters (or branches with some angling) without the sandpaper guards. A swing and mirror among other toys are available but be sure to leave enough room for flying! Food and water dishes, preferably automatic dispensing, or if not, ones with guards to prevent waste contamination. Clips to hold spray millet and fresh food. A bath house with a textured bottom is a favorite, or a slow running faucet will do. Provide a breeding box if breeding is what you have in mind.

Care and feeding:      In the wild the Senegal parrots eat seeds, nuts, berries and fruit. For your pet, ready made staple seed mixes are usually available at your local pet store or super market which contain a mixture of canary grass seed, white millet, yellow millet, oats and groats and red millet, niger seed and linseed. Some higher quality seed mixtures come with thistle, anise, rape, sesame, and safflower seed. Vitamin pellets with iodine in them are sometimes present to prevent thyroid problems. Store seed in a dark but airy place. Not in plastic bags but in a clothes bag in a closet. Offer fresh foods such as eggplant, green peas, cucumber, young dandelion greens, sweet corn, beet greens, carrots, unsprayed lettuce, green peppers, sorrel, spinach leaves, tomatoes and zucchini. Fruits that are suitable are: Pineapples, apples, apricots, bananas, most other fruits.

     Don't feed your bird chocolate or avocados. These foods have been implicated in the death of many birds and should not be fed to senegals.

Availability: Senegal parrots are readily available and moderately expensive.

Add your comment here!
Click to see All the comments!
Click to see all of the coolest comments!
Latest Comments
This February (2009) my Senegal named Tobias will be 30 years old. I have had the pleasure of his companionship for 28 years. He also trusts only one person and tolerates everyone else. He is generally calm yet he has his moments. There have been times he has bitten me well enough to break the skin. This usually happens when other people are around and this may be his way of telling me he doesn't like sharing me with anyone else. After so many years he knows me and every movement I make in the house wanting attention constantly. As I arrive home from work down the driveway he knows it's me and I can hear him vocalize wanting out of the cage and his head feathers rubbed backwards. After all these years the routine has not changed much which consists of a lot of attention. I guessed as he grew older he would slow down, not so! It seems he requires more attention as the years go by. I love it. He picks up on what goes on around him and mimics what he can. I get a special kick on how my Son taught him to grumble. I have not regretted one moment since I’ve had him and would recommend anyone that likes pets to have a Senegal. He is such a sweetie and I will never give him up for the world. jeff 2009-01-21
I am the third owner of my Senegal parrot - Nubbie. At the time I named him that, I didn't know it would be-come him! He can leave you with "nubbie" fingers. I knew my work would be cut out for me when I got him. But I could tell he was depressed. The pet store had him caged on the floor! A big no no for birds. He had no toys to play with. The owner said he fought with the bird every day for a year at just trying to get food in his cage. Nubbie immediatly liked me & stepped up on my finger. The owner was amazed. I worked with him for a year & was getting pretty discouraged. I did not experience the territory behavior that the previous owner had. I made sure he had the biggest cage available. I felt that maybe he missed being around other birds. I ended up bringing him to a bird store to see if they could find him a companion. He stayed there for 2 months. I couldn't sleep at nights worrying & missing Nubbie. I went & picked him back up. He has been so much better behaved since then - BUT - I changed MYSELF. I did a lot of thinking as to what I was doing wrong. I would take him out of the cage at 8 in the morning & keep him in my work room with me until about 6 in the evening. I realized that I may have been over stimulating him & not giving him his own space in his cage. So now he stays in his cage until 2:30 when we go ride in the car to pick up a grandchild at the bus stop. He loves this! He goes back in his cage about 5:30. We now have a much better relationship. I work hard at "reading" his body language. Things are so much better between us. That is not to say that he doesn't have his moody problems. But who doesn't? When he is like that - he is telling me - "back off" I want to be left alone. I love this bird! He makes me so very happy. The bird store called & told me they had a Senegal parrot who needed a home, as his former people gave her up. So, once again - here I go! I hope to be able to bring Baby to the same relationship that I have developed with Nubbie! I have had her for 4 days now, I can put my hand in the cage to touch her head. Hopefully she will get comfortable enough to step up on my finger soon! I want to give her a kiss! Joy Welsh 2008-12-25
I recently 'inherited' a 2 year old Senegal from my son who is now living in the UK. Her name is Avo (I wonder why) aka Pork Chop/Banana Girl/Sweet Pea! She is the cutest little piece of fluff ever and certainly has a personality and mind of her own. What I have come to realise is that she is just like a two year old child and I treat her accordingly. When she's naughty (she actually has tantrums and lies on her back, legs up and literally screams and shouts) I find that if I distract her by changing the scenery, perhaps go for a walk in the garden, she calms down. As for biting, which she loves to do, I make a big whoo-haa about NO BITING and she goes into her cage for a bit of time out. My daughter has really persevered with 'getting acquainted' with Avo who has recently developed a strange mannerism when my daughter approaches her. She puffs up all her feathers, making herself larger and sort of waddles, cowboy style towards my daughter, but will always accept a tickey tickey from her. I think that as caretakers of these wonderful birds we should not let them rule our lives but rather teach them to fit into our lives. Adrienne 2008-09-16
My senegal is cute. (: He says Kiss. and blows a kiss. He says hello and night night and stuff. He's only 3, (: but the thing is, he really doesn't like my brother. This type of bird is probably best with a couple or a single person. Also don't tease them, they remember. I love jasper, he's one of the best friends I could ask for. He's amazing, very loving, and he puts his head down for a scratchy scratchy. He also loves the curtains and tends to climb on them. He likes to have an oaty bite for his breakfast. He doesn't like parrot food that much, but we give it to him any way. He eats the chilies and the peanuts and sunflower seeds, but he doesn't really like the other seeds. So we have to give him seed sticks and lots of fresh fuit and veggies. He loves ice cream and yogurt for treats and if he's really lucky he gets a bit of tea. He drinks it straight from the cup. Hes very interactive, and doesn't like to be on his own much. I love jasper. Abby Abi Abbie banyard 2008-09-06
I have a five-year old Senegal (Skippy) whom I rescued almost two years ago. Up until a couple of months ago, he was very sweet and loving towards me. Then, out of nowhere, he bit me and decided he doesn't always like me. He, too, seems to have developed very "Moody" days. Some days, he's okay and approachable, and then other days he sits with his back turned towards me. We have two other birds in the house (a Blue-Gold Macaw and a male Eclectus), and neither of them have the mood swings that Skippy has. From what I was able to gather from the rescue organization, he was originally given up because he started biting his family. They finally stopped trying to interact with him because of it, and finally turned him into a rescue organization. Up until just recently, he never bit me; he always wanted to be with me; and was always very loving. Now, it depends on what mood he's in. I can't figure it out, because he is very well taken care of. Any ideas... MiMi 2008-09-06
Some of the coolest comments:
I have spoken about Emma, our parrot on your site previously - when we had just got her. Dr Jungle has her as a postcard pet. She is about 4 years old already! I think she is a HE, but nonetheless, the name Emma stuck! She is incredibly tame - which can be a problem! We leave her cage open at all times - just outside our back door. Our dogs are there too - and I prefer her to be near them, in case a stray cat comes to eat her! The dogs have a great relationship with her, but she DEFINITELY RULES THE ROOST! We are a family of 5, and no one else is allowed to pick her up! She bites them! But not immediately, which is always a problem, as they keep wanting to trust her, then she gives them a good bite! She has never ever bitten me. She wouldnt dare, because I am strict with her. I get very angry with her when she bites or tries to bite my kids and she gets taken back to her cage and closed in there for 20 mins. It doesnt help! She still bites everyone else! But some guests try their luck and she doesnt bite them - its never really a serious bite, but leaves a dent in the finger which is very painful for a child! She adores me. She waddles around the house looking for me - and she always gets attention this way, even if I take her back to her cage - as I am afraid of her messing the house, chewing the wood or cables of computers! She allows me to do absolutely anything with her! I look in her mouth, grab her tongue, she lies upsidedown in my hand. I grab her beak and shake it, as one would do with the muzzle of a dog. I cut her feathers, I rub her feet, I SMOTHER her with kisses and tickle her tummy and under her wings. In fact I am a bit rough with her and she LOVES it! She screams at the dog - ZIGGY, all day - and I dont know how she keeps on with it - because the dog never get screamed at by us! ;-). The dogs keep their distance from her - but if they are lying on a mat in our hallway and she walzes into the house, she walks within inches of them, and they dont budge! They DO keep their eye on her, though!She never ever bites them. Sometimes, I try to put her on Flash's back (she is a boxer), but she just flaps her wings and flies down. She adores any seeded bread and can destroy that for an hour, eating all the seeds. She also LOVES sweetcorn on the cob. She is very spoilt with food and is extremely greedy. She also loves to swim and splash in her water! Once we left her at home when we went away on holiday (with the dogs) and someone came in to feed them daily. I forgot to cut her wings before I left. She flew away - I think they tried to get her down from the roof with a broom, and it spooked her and she flew. She gets spooked VERY easily. She was gone for 4 days and we found her at the Veterninary CLinic. Someone WITH DOGS had brought her in. Thankfully! Unfortunately, she hates my husband and she stretches her neck out as far as possible, almost toppling off her cage to try and bite him as he goes past! He says we should let her grow her wings and fly away! Ha ha! She adores showing off in front of our friends and showing them all the things she can do - like lying on her back. I also pick her up by the scruff of her neck - like one would a kitten and she just hangs there - calm as anything! Everyone thinks thats the cutest! She just LOVES attention and would sleep with me at night if she could. Sometimes, when I rest on my bed of an afternoon - which is FAR away from her cage, she will walk the entire length of the house to come and find me - chattering and clicking all the kissing sounds all the way! Quite irreristable! Unfortunately, she DOES screech - and usually does it when I hang the washing right near her. I tell her to stop it immediately, - then she does some quiet little whistles and then hears a bird in the distance, and starts screeching again! I have battles with her all the time with this! If I start whistling or singing, she joins in and its the cutest sound. She mixes up all the notes, but gets 2 or 3 in a row right! Its really the cutest thing! She is also very funny the way she mimics us laughing! She ALWAYS mimics laughter and its a low giggle that she does, but quite amazing! She is actually extremely well behaved. Unfortunately, one of the negatives about having her outside and in an open cage, wild birds come and visit her and take her food. I am amazed that she doesnt chase THEM away! She just watches them. I think she quite likes the company! She is extremely good at immitating sounds! We live in SA, so we have an alarm system that turns on and off everytime we exit or enter our house - and she mimics the sounds it makes, as well as the squeak of the door and the clang of the gate. She doesnt say many words well - but she will try and mimic almost every SOUND we make! IF we click, she clicks, if we cough, she coughs, if we laugh, she laughs, if we bang, she bangs! Quite amazing. The tiring thing about her - is that she demands a LOT of attention! I read in one of the other comments, that the guy started leaving his parrot for LONGER in her cage - as she didnt like spending the entire day with him - I find the same with Emma - if I take her somewhere, she gets a bit tired and irritated and starts screeching, and then I know that she wants to go back to her place! They definitely DO try to communicate what they want! She also huffs up her feathers and RUNS at one of my daughters feet in the lounge! Hysterics! But one learns what to be careful of - and if you show her that you are scared - then she thinks you are submitting to her and she rules the roost even more! Cindi Kirby 2009-03-18
I have recently acquired my second senegal, Dylan, a 12 week old male. My previous bird was lost when a door was left open around 6 months ago and I've pined for him ever since. They are fantastic birds and complex in nature and should be treated so, my previous parrot harry was without doubt the best thing I have ever spent my money on. I didn't realise another creature could be quite so intelligent. But as such they can be unpredictable, and I always found a change in scenery helped with negative behaviour. Removing a toy from the cage, moving cage or covering three sides may help in stimulating problem birds to think of something else. I have heard that owners with other birds should experiment with cage heights and positions and although I can't speak from experience on this I think it is worth a mention. I also allow my bird to be handled by as many people as possible and constantly push the boundaries of what he is comfortable with me doing with him (laying him on his back and opening his wings etc). They have a very strong impulse on where they are within the flock, and I cannot stress enough that you need to be firm with them. If my bird bites my ear for instance, I'll drop the shoulder it's on and tell him off. I'm the boss in our relationship and that's the end of the story, and as long as the bird knows that we'll always be fine. If you have other birds in the house I would urge you to try and move the birds around, but I hope you get around it all and bring your parrot back to the bird it was. Mark Anderson 2008-11-27
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
Thank you for giving me some helpful facts about my bird, Skippy, indeed he is veeerrry spoiled and playful. He is three years old and he can say "Chanel", which is my name so when I am not home he will call for me every second until I arrive. He also can say "cookies" and imitates various sounds such as my microwave. He has chewed up a lot of my things but I will get mad and hold it. He has bitten my mom various times but you know what she didn't care that much because she knows he is trying to tell her something. He is our special angel and best friend and we love him dearly. I just wish that he could understand english and talk back to me and my family. He is like my little brother who keeps me on my feet. Chanel 2006-01-29

Back to Miscellaneous Parrots