Editing Psittacus (section)

==Status and conservation==
[[File:Timneh african grey parrot 31l07.JPG|left|thumb|Timneh parrot ([[wing clipping|wings clipped]])]]
More rare than previously believed, the grey was uplisted from a species of least concern to near threatened in the 2007 [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="autogenerated2">See BirdLife International (2007a. b).</ref> A recent analysis suggests up to 21% of the global population may be taken from the wild annually,<ref name="autogenerated2" /> primarily for the pet trade. In 2012, the species was further uplisted to [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]].<ref name="Recently recategorised species"/> 
The species is endemic to primary and secondary [[rainforest]]s of West and Central Africa.<ref>See Juniper, T. and M. Parr. 1998. Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.</ref> Grey parrots depend on large, old trees for the natural hollows they use for nesting. Studies in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have found that greys' preferred species of nesting trees are also species preferred for timber.<ref name="autogenerated1">See Clemmons, J.R. 2003. Status Survey of the African Grey Parrot (''Psittacus erithacus timneh'') and Development of a Management Program in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. CITES, Geneva, Switzerland.</ref> The relationship between the status of the species and the status of [[primary forest]] is positive:<ref>Dändliker, G. 1992. The Grey Parrot in Ghana: A population survey, a contribution to the biology of the species, a study of its commercial exploitation and management recommendations. CITES, Lausanne, Switzerland.</ref> where the forests are declining, so too are populations of grey parrots.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

[[File:Psittacus erithacus -captivity-6.jpg|thumb|right|Grey parrot in a bird park]]
The grey parrot is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ([[CITES]]). This requires both that exports be accompanied by a permit issued by a national authority and that a finding be made that the export is not detrimental to the species in the wild. With exports totaling more than 350,000 specimens from 1994 to 2003,<ref>See UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database.</ref> the grey parrot is one of the most heavily traded CITES-listed bird species. In response to continuing population declines, exceeded quotas, and unsustainable and illegal trade (including among range states), CITES included the grey parrot in Phase VI of the CITES Review of Significant Trade in 2004. This review has resulted in recommended zero export quotas for several range states and a CITES decision to develop regional management plans for the species.

In the United States, importation of wild-caught grey parrots is prohibited under the US Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992. In the European Union, an EU Directive of 2007 prevents importation of this and any other wild-caught birds for the pet trade.