Hello my name
is Merlin!

Poicephalus Meyeri

I am a 25 year old Meyer's Parrot who entered into The Friends of the Aviary's foster program in August of 2024. I was one of the first birds to come into the program, with my friends Sierra, Oscar, and Winston when our owner passed away.

When The Aviary first heard about me they were told I was a conure, but really I'm more closely related to Senegal Parrots.

Senegals and Meyers are similar in size to their Conure cousins, but they do not have the Conure's distinctive long tails.

Likes

Head Scritches

Dislikes

Nothing so far!

Fav Foods

I'm still trying new things!

What I Can Say

Baby bird, I'm a baby bird

About Me and Other Meyer's Parrots

Meyer's parrots are native to African and can be found in a variety of biomes including woodlands, savannahs, and fields. Also known as the brown parrot, they are similar in size and personality to Senegal parrots. There are in fact 6 subspecies of the Meyer's parrot in Africa being distinguished by slight colour variations.

As companions, us small parrots have big personalities. Since leaving my old home I have met lots of new friends who I am happy to visit with and receive scritches from. In a home setting with proper care we can live 25-35 years so I am on the older side.

We were first discovered in 1827 when we were seen flying in pairs or small flocks and were later named after a German anthropologist and ornithologist Bernhard Meyer.

We have a large range spanning across African, but are most often seen in Botswana in the Okavango Delta where our population is the largest. Like many parrots, we are unfortunately persecuted for being a crop pest (especially in orange orchards). In the Northern Province of South Africa we were persecuted so heavily that Meyer's parrots are now a rare sighting there.