Timneh parrot

Timneh parrot
In captivity
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Superfamily:	Psittacoidea
Family:	Psittacidae
Subfamily:	Psittacinae
Genus:	Psittacus
Species:	P. timneh
Binomial name
Psittacus timneh Fraser, 1844
Synonyms
Psittacus erithacus timneh

The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh), also known as the Timneh grey parrot or Timneh African grey parrot, is a West African parrot that is variously considered a subspecies of the African grey parrot Psittacus erithacus timneh, or a full species Psittacus timneh. In aviculture, it is often referred to by the initials TAG and is commonly kept as a companion parrot.

Description

Showing dull maroon tail

Growing to 28–33 centimetres (11–13 in) in length and weighing 275–375 grams (9.7–13.2 oz),^[1] the Timneh is a medium-sized parrot. Its plumage is mainly a mottled grey, with a white face mask and pale yellow eyes. Compared with the only other recognised Psittacus species, often known as the African grey parrot or Congo African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), the Timneh is smaller and darker, with a dull, dark maroon (rather than crimson) tail and a horn-coloured patch on the upper mandible.^[2] As in the nominate species, the Timneh parrot is also a very intelligent bird and a skilled mimic. The Timneh parrot may be less nervous and more outgoing around human beings, and can learn to talk at a younger age than the Congo grey.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

Range of Timneh parrot

The Timneh parrot is endemic to the western parts of the moist Upper Guinean forests and bordering savannas of West Africa from Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and southern Mali eastwards to at least 70 km east of the Bandama River in Ivory Coast. There is no natural range overlap with the Congo parrot although, as both taxa are common in aviculture, escapes can occur and hybridization between Congo and Timneh greys has been observed in captivity.^[1] The birds typically inhabit dense forest, but are also seen at forest edges and in clearings, in gallery forest along waterways, savanna woodland and mangroves. Though they are sometimes found in cultivated areas and gardens, it is not clear whether these habitats contain self-sustaining populations; the birds may make seasonal movements out of the driest parts of their range in the dry season.^[2]

Status, threats and conservation

Of a total estimated population of 120,000–259,000 individual birds, the largest populations are in Ivory Coast (54,000–130,000) and Liberia (50,000–100,000). In the other range countries, estimated numbers are Sierra Leone (11,000–18,000), Guinea (5,000–10,000) and Guinea-Bissau (100–1,000), with insignificant numbers in southern Mali. Surveys indicate that the species has disappeared from the forests around Mount Nimba and in Nimba County, Liberia.^[2]

The Timneh parrot has been undergoing population decline both through loss of its forest habitat and trapping for the international wild bird trade. Lumped with the closely related Congo parrot as the African grey, it is one of the most popular pet birds in the United States, Europe and the Middle East due to its longevity and ability to mimic human speech.^[2]

In January 2007, the CITES’ Animals Committee imposed a two-year ban on exports of Timneh parrots from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea, while the importation of wild-caught birds into the EU was banned in the same year. Despite this, in 2009, Guinea exported 720 birds. The legal trade, which is monitored by CITES, may constitute only a small proportion of the total numbers trapped in the wild.^[4]

In 2012, BirdLife International gave the Timneh parrot full species status on the basis of genetic, morphological, plumage and vocal differences^[5] and classified it as Vulnerable.^[6]

References