A different shade of grey
A tribute to Cupid, my sweet Timneh Grey Parrot
You have a what? How do you spell that? How do you pronounce that? She doesn't look like the African Greys I've ever seen!
I have a Timneh African Grey parrot. That's t-i-m-n-e-h. That's pronounced "TIM-nuh." No, she doesn't look like most of the African Greys that people have seen.
The Timneh Grey is the little known (but becoming more popular, and for good reason!) subspecies of the Congo African Grey, otherwise known as the Red-tailed Grey. I decided to get an African Grey after getting to know my friend's Red-tailed Grey. After doing lots of homework, I decided I wanted a Timneh, because they are known to be very sweet, playful, cuddly and more laid back than their nominate cousins. Physically, they are a little smaller, darker, and have a maroon tail and pink upper beak. They have just as much potential for speech (and other sound effects) as the nominate species, and in most other respects are the same.
I learned most of what I know about Greys on a great mailing list called The Grey Connection. The list mom (Bobbi Brinker) has been raising baby Greys for the past 15 years, and lives within 3 hours of me, so she was a top consideration when I was looking for a baby. I was delighted when I learned that she would have a baby Timneh, and when I met Cupid for the first time, I knew I wanted her. All summer I travelled there to visit her, and Bobbi and I quickly became good friends.
I learned so much during that summer, because along with my visits, I was (and still am) subscribed to The Grey Connection. For almost a whole year, I was The Person Without The Bird! I had learned so much, that I still continued to post quite a bit of advice to readers who had questions. I knew then that I was very fortunate to have such a wealth of information, that I wanted to share it with as many people as I could.
Since Cupid has come home with me (in July of '99), my feelings about education have not changed. These birds are just so fascinating and intelligent, affectionate and sensitive, silly and playful, that I just want to play a small part in helping people understand them.
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