Myths About Sexing African Greys

If you have an African Grey and don't know if it's a cock (male) or hen (female) then you've probably tried to figure it out using one of the following myths. These myths can be found all over the internet, forums and blogs. The myths are spread by owners, breeders and sometimes even vets! The truth is that there isn't a reliable visual (naked eye) way to tell if an African Grey is a cock or hen. African Greys are monomorphic which means they are visually difficult to determine the gender. The following myths about sexing African Grey's are the most common myths that continue to survive on the internet.
 

Myth #1 - Males are larger than the females.
Myth #2 - Males have darker wings than the females.
Myth #3 - Males have larger more powerful beaks than the females.
Myth #4 - Males have a round iris and females have an elliptical iris
Myth #5 - Males have light tips on their wing feathers and the females have solid colored wing feathers.
Myth #6 - Males have a flatter square head and females have a rounder head when viewed from the side (profile).
Myth #7 - Males have a pointed shaped bare skin area around eyes and the females have a rounded shape bare skin area.
Myth #8 - Males have solid dark gray feather color extending from chest to tail and female feathers fade to a lighter gray toward the tail.
Myth #9 - Males have solid red feathers around their vent (coverts under the tail) and female have a gray border of feathers around their vent (coverts under the tail).
Myth #10 - Males have two major color bands under their wings (light gray at wing forward edge and dark gray at the wing tips) and females have three major bands of color under the wings (light gray at wing forward edge, white in a middle band and dark gray at the wing tips).

Useful Terminology

DNA Sexing Procedure -The avian DNA test utilizes differences on the sex chromosomes of birds in order to determine their sex. Male and female birds give distinctive and different DNA patterns, resulting in conclusive and accurate sex identification. DNA sexing can be performed with blood, plucked feathers or eggshell samples.

Monomorphic - Birds can be described as monomorphic if their sex cannot be determined by their markings or the color of their feathers. The majority of parrot species are monomorphic.

Surgical Sexing Procedure - AKA Laparoscopy - a surgical procedure in which a tiny scope is inserted into the abdomen through a small incision enabling the veterinarian to do a visual inspection of the internal reproductive organs.

PCR - AKA polymerase chain reaction - a laboratory technique that can amplify the amount of DNA from a tiny sample to a large amount.

The Author is the creator of the InfoSuperFlyway.com. It's a webpage dedicated to Kibibi a Congo African Grey Parrot with parrot recordings, funny parrot videos, top ten lists, parrot jokes, clicker training info and a large database of parrot articles. For more articles about African Greys and other Parrots, this check out Kibibi's Parrot Article Archive.
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