From Novice to Expert: Mastering Timneh African Grey Parrot Care

The Timneh Parrot, affectionately known to bird lovers as the Timneh African Gray Parrot, is a charming feathered friend native to West Africa. Not long ago, scientists considered it merely a form of the large brown parrot family. But now, it is celebrated as its own unique species, Psittacus timaneh. Known for its attractive brown feathers and intelligent nature, this parrot has won the hearts of many people and is a favorite companion in homes around the world.

Taxonomy

Timneh The African grey parrot was first officially recognized in 1844 by Louis Fraser, a British scientist and collector. They named it Psittacus Timneh and stated that its home region was “Timneh Country, Sierra Leone”. The Temne people, who live mostly in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, are related by name. Originally considered a type of brown parrot, the Timneh parrot is now seen as its own species. This change is due to a 2007 study that looked at its genes and physical characteristics.

There are two recognized subspecies:

• P. t. timneh Fraser, 1844 – This subspecies can be found from southern Guinea to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, and western Ivory Coast.
• P. t. princeps Alexander, 1909 – This subspecies is located on Príncipe, an island off the west coast of Africa.

Description

The Timneh African grey parrot is an attractive small bird, growing to a comfortable length of 28–33 cm (11–13 in) and tipping the scales at 275–375 g (9.7–13.2 oz). It has a stylish spotted gray coat, with a fashionable white mask on its face and charming yellow eyes. Different from its cousin, the gray parrot, the Timneh features a more compact frame and a darker shade of gray. Its tail is an attractive dark maroon color in contrast to the vibrant red color of the brown, and it has a fashionable horn-colored patch on the top part of its bill. Known for its sharp intelligence and talent in imitating sounds, Timneh holds its own place in the bird world. It is also a little more sociable and adventurous with humans, eager to initiate interactions at a younger age than its brown relative.

Distribution and habitat

The Timneh African gray parrot lives in the western moist forests and surrounding savannas of West Africa. Their home extends from Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone to Mali and a little further east than the Bandama River in Ivory Coast. They do not naturally share their living space with gray parrots, but because both types are often kept as pets, they can mate, mate, and even have mixed offspring in captivity. Can get it. These birds prefer to live in dense forests, but can also be found in forest edges, clearings, along river banks, woodland savannas and mangroves. Sometimes, they visit cultivated lands and gardens, but it is not certain whether they can live alone there or not. When their normal homes become too dry they move to wetter areas.

Status, threats and conservation

Timneh is a family of African gray parrots, estimated to be between 120,000 and 259,000 members in size, with the majority of its relatives found in Ivory Coast and Liberia. In other homelands, such as Sierra Leone, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, their gatherings are smaller, and in southern Mali, they are very rare. Sadly, recent investigations have found none in the once thriving locations around Mount Nimba and Nimba County, Liberia.

These parrots are facing tough times, losing their forest homes and falling into traps set for the pet trade across borders. The challenge of shrinking forests and changing weather patterns is taking a toll on their food tables, affecting their access to favorite foods like fruits, seeds and flowers. Their habit of adapting to new menus helps them cope with these changes, yet it is also linked to their declining numbers. Known for its charming longevity and talent at imitating human chatter, the Timaneh African gray parrot, along with its Congo gray cousins, is a favorite pet in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

In January 2007, the group that oversees wildlife trade regulations called CITES banned Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea from selling Timneh parrots for two years. In the same year Europe also stopped buying these wild birds. But in 2009, Guinea still sold 720 birds. The trade that CITES tracks is a small fraction of all birds caught in the wild.

As of 2012, BirdLife International stated that the Timneh parrot is its own type of bird due to differences in genes, size, color and sound. In 2016, they listed it as endangered.