Meet Apollo: the record-breaking TikTok parrot with the intelligence of a human toddler
The first thing that comes to mind when you see Apollo is: ‘This bird is a genius.’
Boasting an ever-growing follower count, the four-year-old African grey parrot has taken the internet by storm with his unique skills and larger-than-life personality.
He’s a TikTok star, a beloved pet, and an outstandingly intelligent bird with a soft spot for pistachios.
Oh, and he’s a star of Guinness World Records 2025!
We’re proud to make this addition to our wall of achievements, alongside our gold YouTube plaque and our news articles – Dalton and Victoria
Apollo’s new record title fills the couple with joy, but also sends an important message.
While the emotional intelligence of animals is often dismissed or ignored, this achievement reinforcers Dalton and Victoria’s mission “to spread awareness of the natural intelligence found in animals”.
Apollo is described as having the intelligence of a human toddler, and he recognizes colours, words and objects. His verbal skills allow him to count, communicate clearly and answer complex questions. He also loves to ask questions to satisfy his curiosity and understand the world around him.
This new milestone proves that the parrot isn’t just the tremendously cute star of many viral videos: he’s an enthusiastic learner, and he trains hard to discover new words.
His favourite reward when he wants to learn something new? Pistachios, of course!
@apolloandfrens Attempting to educate a talking parrot #talkingparrot #smartbird #amazinganimals #africangrey #parrotsoftiktok #learning #teaching #playing ♬ original sound - ApolloandFrens
But who is Apollo, and how did this Congo African grey parrot rise to internet stardom?
In December 2020, Dalton and Victoria were at their local pet store to buy crickets for their leopard gecko when a very special parrot caught their attention.
The couple has always been passionate about animals. They have owned parrots in the past, and are also the proud pet-parents of two more White-bellied Caiques: Soleil and Ophelia.
With Apollo, it was love at first sight.
“He immediately got our attention, and we knew upon meeting him that we’d be taking him home,” they say.
Named after the Roman god of truth and prophecy, Apollo's intelligence quickly became viral online and he has become one of the internet's favourite pets.
At the time of writing, Apollo's TikTok account has racked up an impressive 2.8M followers and counting.
Similarly, the YouTube channel Apollo and Frens, now counts 1.37M subscribers.
“He loves learning new things and applying his knowledge outside of his training environment,” his parents noticed. They fully encourage and nurture Apollo’s talents and personality, and are raising him to be “the smartest parrot ever”.
Victoria and Dalton do their best to communicate with Apollo as they would to a human child.
The talented parrot 'receives a preschool-level homeschooling education', with lively training sessions that keep him engaged, and often shares his playtime with his sisters Soleil and Ophelia.
When he’s not studying or training, Apollo also loves to spend his mornings playing with his toys until it’s time for a well-deserved meal.
He also likes to enjoy the sunshine and spend time with his parents, asking questions whenever he wants to earn a snack.
“He will hang around while we work or relax, either talking to himself or sometimes asking us the same questions we ask him, like 'What’s that called?' or 'What colour'?” Victoria and Dalton say.
And, like most parrots, he has a real passion for destroying things.
We hope that our title can change the meaning behind the phrase "bird brain" - Dalton and Victoria
“We use Dr Irene Pepperberg's Model/Rival method of training when working with Apollo,” the couple explains.
Animal psychologist Dr Irene Pepperberg worked extensively with an African grey parrot named Alex, carrying on a study that spanned thirty years across the University of Arizona, Harvard and Brandeis.
Alex showcased an intelligence that equals to the one found in dolphins and great apes, and had the problem solving skills of a five-year-old child. As she worked closely with her clever subject, Dr Pepperberg’s aimed to show that parrots’ communication skills went beyond simply mimicking sounds.
Glassk! Metal! Shrek! - Apollo
Her studies on animal behaviour significantly implemented the model/rival technique.
This particular training model focuses on observation, and involves two trainers: the first trainer gives instructions, while the second one acts as a student to model correct and incorrect responses. The two trainers also interchange roles, as the parrot is encouraged to learn the correct behaviour.
Using such a training model allowed Alex the parrot to hone his skills, communicating like a two-year-old toddler and mastering a large vocabulary.
Dalton and Victoria knew Apollo had the potential to follow in Alex’s footsteps.
“Once he started to learn his first object labels, colours, and materials we knew that he would be able to achieve many of the incredible things that Alex did and potentially much more,” they explain.
Although there have been exceptions (like learning the name of the movie character Shrek or the video game villain Wario, from the Super Mario franchise) Apollo is mostly free to focus on whatever captures his attention.
Victoria and Dalton accommodate his curiosity and allow him to learn everything he wants, making sure he thoroughly enjoys the process.
“We teach him as much as we can naturally in day-to-day life and focus on the things Apollo wants to focus on. We believe he will learn things faster that way,” they explain.
An environment where the animal can behave most naturally will foster their uniqueness and lead to more productive growth - Dalton and Victoria
@apolloandfrens #tiktok_collaboration #talkingparrot #funnyanimals #africangrey ♬ original sound - ApolloandFrens
In front of a camera or meeting new people, Apollo has the personality of an online star.
“He’s a bit of a show-off for new people,” Victoria and Dalton explain, “and he knows how to make himself the centre of attention.”
It’s no surprise, then, that people are amazed by Apollo’s skills whenever they see the talkative parrot for the first time.
“Our friends have never seen another parrot do what Apollo does, so they knew it was a record not any other bird could beat,” Victoria and Dalton explain.
His most recent new word is 'four', which he loves to interject with when he hears anybody say 'one', 'two' or 'three', regardless of context - Dalton and Victoria
“There’s no knowing what Apollo will learn, or what records he could break next,” the couple say, confident that the viral pet has what it takes to break more records.
In the future, they aim to introduce more conceptual ideas into Apollo’s training – adding elements like shapes, sizes, and actions. However, the sky is the limit when it comes to the things this extraordinary bird can learn.
“We consider this to be almost entirely uncharted territory, aside from what Alex & Dr Pepperberg have already proved possible.”
For now, we raise a GLASSk to Apollo: we can’t wait to see what adventures await him in the future!
Meet Apollo and many other extraordinary pets inside Guinness World Records 2025, out in September.