You must be talking about Alex. He is a well studied bird and has documented exactly how smart they are. Somce scientists are beginning to think they are one of *the* most intelligent animals on earth, aside from humans. Everything from context speech to manipulating tools and incredibly dexterous feet and beaks seems to indicate this. Mine will even hold a spoon and eat nicely out of it.
My sister has two cockatiels, which are nowhere near as smart as African greys, of course. I am hesitant to buy a parrot because they live for decades, and I don't think it would be fair to buy one and then have to get rid of it for some reason down the road. Plus my sister's cockatiels get cranky in mating season and when they're molting. Not such a big deal with cockatiels, but some of those larger parrots could do a lot of damage biting you. Do you have trouble with aggressiveness with your bird?
I wish I had the time to dedicate to a bird like that. The Wife really isn't into birds though my cat seems to think they'd be tasty. I guess its for the best. :-)