Quackie the parrot has been my companion and my inspiration now for well over 20 years. However, I have only just found out why African Grey parrots are grey with a red tail:
“In the impenetrable forests of Gabon, a story is told that, at the creation of the world, the little gray parrot with the red tail was, like all the other birds, naked and without a single feather. Noticing the parrot’s uncommon kindness, God left him to clothe his fellow birds while He handled the apes and the humans. In the workshop he gave the parrot, there were piles of feathers and pots of pigment in every color of the rainbow. The little parrot threw himself into his task. He wanted the birds to have the most beautiful and joyous colorings on earth. So diligent was he that, in the end, there was only a little bit of red pigment left, just enough for the tip of his tail. For the rest of his feathers, he covered himself with the ashes from the forge used to fuse the colors of the other birds. God, moved by his selflessness, gave the parrot a share of the intelligence he had reserved for men and apes. Since then, among the many forest peoples, the parrot has been revered. It is the only animal capable of helping others without expecting something in return. And when it repeats what it is told, this is not because it is stupid, but because it trusts.”
From: ‘The Sans-Papiers of Saint-Bernard’ by GauZ’, Translated from the French by Frank Wynne, in The Paris Review, Summer 2025, pp. 197-198.
