Timneh Parrot
Psittacus timneh
Also called Timneh grey, Timneh grey parrot, Timneh African grey
From West Africa's Upper Guinea forests, from Guinea-Bissau through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to Côte d'Ivoire. It uses lowland rainforest, forest edges, gallery forest, mangroves, savanna and plantations.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Feathered; medium-sized, short-tailed parrot
A darker, charcoal-grey version of the familiar grey parrot, with scalloped feathers, a pale bare face patch and pale yellow eyes. The rump and belly are lighter grey. Its tail is a deep maroon rather than bright red, and the upper bill has a horn-coloured patch against the dark lower bill.213
Personality what they are like
A clever, observant parrot that is often a little more outgoing and easy-going than its larger Congo cousin. Many start copying words and household sounds at a younger age. It enjoys time with its people but usually prefers head scratches and company to lots of cuddling.23
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Needs daily out-of-cage time and plenty of mental work: foraging toys, puzzles and chewable items to keep its busy mind engaged.3
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Provide regular chances to bathe, fresh chewable toys and varied perches. Setting one side of the cage against a wall rather than in the middle of a room helps it feel secure.3
Home where they are happiest
A large, sturdy parrot cage with room to climb and spread its wings, plus a play area outside the cage.3
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Wild birds eat fruits and seeds, especially oil palm fruit, along with figs, cola and maize. Pets do well on a balanced pellet base with fresh vegetables (orange ones such as cooked sweet potato, and leafy greens) and some fruit.13
Company who they like around
A very social parrot that needs plenty of daily interaction and involvement in family life.3
The story where it all began
Louis Fraser described the Timneh in 1844, but for most of its history it was lumped in with the grey parrot. Genetic work published in 2007 showed it to be a distinct species, and it has long been kept as a companion bird for its intelligence and gift for speech.2
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
It was considered a mere subspecies of the grey parrot until a 2007 study showed it is its own species.2
- 2
Wild Timnehs may fly up to 20 km in a day to reach food.1
- 3
It can often begin to talk at a younger age than the Congo grey parrot.2
- 4
Its tail is a dark maroon, while the grey parrot's is bright crimson, one of the easiest ways to tell them apart.2
Recognised by the official bits
- Taxonomy
- Described by Louis Fraser in 1844. Long treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot, it was split as a full species after a 2007 genetic and morphological study; BirdLife International recognised the split in 2012.2
- IUCN Red List
- Endangered; the World Parrot Trust gives 100,000-500,000 mature individuals (high uncertainty) and Wikipedia gives 120,000-259,000 birds, with no year stated.1
- CITES
- Appendix I.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Timneh Parrot. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh food and waterevery day
- Cage linerevery day
- Full cleanevery week
- Bath offerevery 3 days
- Nails checkevery month
- Beak checkevery month
- EnrichmentPuzzles and foraging every dayevery day
- Out-of-cage timeAbout 3 hours a dayevery day
- Vet check-upevery year
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- World Parrot Trust - Timneh Parrot parrots.orgused for range, weight, diet, lifespan, status, population
- Wikipedia - Timneh parrot en.wikipedia.orgused for taxonomy history, size, description, talking, population
- Lafeber - African Grey Parrot lafeber.comused for Timneh temperament, care, diet, social needs, lifespan
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.