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'Conures' are a diverse, loosely-defined group of small to medium-sized parrots. They belong to several genera within a long-tailed group of the New World Parrot subfamily Arinae. The term "conure" is used primarily in bird keeping, though it has appeared in some scientific journals. The American Ornithologists' Union uses the generic term "parakeet" for all species termed conure elsewhere, although Joseph Forshaw, a prominent Australian ornithologist, uses the term "conure".Forshaw, Joseph M. & Cooper, William T. (1978): ''Parrots of the World'' (2nd ed). Landsdowne Editions, Melbourne Australia ISBN 0-7018-0690-7

Contents

Description

Conure Species

Aratinga

Pyrrhura

Nanday Conure

Golden Conure

Patagonian Conure

Enicognathus

Golden-Plumed Conure

Yellow-Eared Conure

Carolina Parakeet

Scientific Classification

Trivia

Nonnative Conure Colonies

Washington State

San Francisco, CA

Long Beach, CA

See also

References

Description

Conures are either large parakeets or small parrots that are found in the western hemisphere. They are analogous in size and way of life to the Old World's Rose-ringed Parakeets or the Australian parakeets. All living conure species are found in Central and South America; the extinct ''Conuropsis carolinensis'' or Carolina Parakeet was an exception.
Despite being large for parakeets, conures are lightly built with long tails and small (but strong) beaks. Conure beaks always have a small cere and are usually horn-colored or black. Most conure species live in flocks of 20 or more birds. Conures often eat grain, which causes them to be treated as agricultural pests in some places.
Conures are as diverse a group as African Parrots, so trying to characterize them all is difficult and inaccurate. The category ''conure'' is loosely-defined because they do not currently constitute a natural, scientific grouping. The term ''conure'' is now used mostly in aviculture. Scientists tend to refer to these birds as "parrots" or "parakeets." They are known as clowns of the parrot species because of their antics and the way they behave. (''See below under ''Scientific Classification'' for more details.'')

Conure Species

Conures, as the term is used by aviculturists, include only the genera ''Aratinga'' and ''Pyrrhura'', as well as several single-species genera and one double-species genus
★ .
These other genera are listed below:

★ ''Conuropsis'': Carolina Parakeet (extinct)

★ ''Cyanoliseus'': Patagonian Conure

★ ''Enicognathus'': Austral and Slender-Billed Conures

★ ''Guarouba'': Golden or Queen Of Bavaria Conure

★ ''Leptosittaca'': Golden-Plumed Conure

★ ''Nandayus'': Nanday Conure

★ ''Ognorhynchus'': Yellow-Eared Conure
See also: Wikispecies taxonomy.

Aratinga

Latin for "little macaw," (ara - macaw, tinga - diminutive) the ''Aratinga'' conures generally seem to have a more mischievous personality than the real little macaws or mini macaws. The ''Aratinga'' conures are generally larger with brighter plumage and are generally the noisier, more outgoing, more demanding of the two primary conure genera. The Sun Conure and Jenday Conure are among the species of conures more commonly kept as pets.
See Cherry-headed conure, Blue-crowned Conure.

Pyrrhura

''Pyrrhura'' is the other large genus of conures. These generally greenish conures including the very common Green-cheeked Conure. Usually smaller, duller-colored, and quieter than the ''Aratinga'' conures, the ''Pyrrhura'' conures contain almost every conure species with a hyphen in the name, and the majority of ''Pyrrhura'' species names are hyphenated.

Nanday Conure

The 'Nanday conure', ''Nandayus nenday'' is the most commonly kept pet conure species outside of the two main genera. Some experts believe that Nandays should actually be grouped with the Aratinga genus, since they are cross-fertile with such species as Jendays and Suns. Nanday conures have a distinctive black head, and wings and tails tipped with dark blue feathers. They have a light-blue scarf and bright orange feathers on their legs and around their vents. The maturity of a Nanday can be told by the edges of its black hood: if the hood has a ragged edge of brown, then the bird is over a year old. Although Nandays are often said to be extremely noisy, it might be more accurate to say that they are a heavily flock-oriented species, used to making their demands known, calling out warnings for the group, and making inquiries about other members of the group who are out of sight. They are also extremely intelligent birds, capable of learning tricks, mimicking sounds, and learning a small vocabulary. At least one report suggests that they are highly adaptable to human encroachment on their territories, but the exact status of the species in the wild is unknown.
Flocks of 'Nanday conures' have been seen living wild in parts of Florida, notably the west coast including areas of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

Golden Conure

The Golden conure or Queen of Bavaria Conure, ''Guarouba guarouba'' (recently reclassified from ''Aratinga guarouba'') is, as the name implies, covered all over with bright yellow feathers, except for the green wing-tip feathers and the greyish-horn-colored beak. Golden conures are among the most expensive conures both to purchase and to care for, although many owners feel that the benefits outweigh the cost. It is one of the rarest Conures in the wild in addition to the pet trade. Many experts believe that these birds should not be kept in captivity unless in a breeding program.

Patagonian Conure

The 'Patagonian conure', ''Cyanoliseus patagonus'', is a large conure found in the Patagonia region of south-central Argentina and Chile. Drab on the top, brighly colored underneath, the Patagonian conure has exploded in popularity since the 1990s, leading to an increase in illegal importation which threatens the wild populations. It is also known as the "burrowing parrot," due to its habit of nesting in holes in the ground. Unsurprisingly, Patagonians in captivity are great chewers, and have been known to munch through furniture and even walls.

Enicognathus

The Greater Patagonian Conure is the largest of all the Conures. They learn to talk and they usually bond
very well with people, especially if hand-raised.

Golden-Plumed Conure

The 'Golden-plumed conure', ''Leptosittaca branickii'', is a small Andean conure not found in aviculture and endangered in its own habitat.

Yellow-Eared Conure

The exceedingly rare 'Yellow-eared conure' or ''Ognorhynchus icterotis'' of Colombia and Ecuador was never common in aviculture and has not successfully bred in captivity.

Carolina Parakeet

''Conuropsis carolinensis'', the 'Carolina Parakeet', was the only parrot species endemic to the United States in recorded history. The Carolina parakeet was a remarkably social bird, living in vast flocks. American bird hunters reported that Carolina Parakeets would return to mourn dead members of the flock, making themselves easy targets. Considered a pest, popular in the pet trade, and bearing plume feathers valued for hats, this species was hunted to extinction around the beginning of the 1900's.

Scientific Classification

The word ''conure'' is an old term and was originally used as a descriptive name for the members of the nolonger-used genus ''Conurus'', which included the members of ''Aratinga'' and ''Pyrrhura''.
The parrot order Psittaciformes is a rather confusing tangle of genera, many containing only one species. Parrots or Psittacines (order Psittaciformes) includes about 353 species of bird which are generally grouped into two families: the Cacatuidae or cockatoos, and the Psittacidae or true parrots. The term parrot is generally used for both the entire order as well as for the Psittacidae alone.
All members of the Psittaciformes order have a characteristic curved beak shape with the upper mandible having slight mobility in the joint with the skull and a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. See Parrot.
The conures and all other New World parrots are often placed in a subfamily or tribe Arinae. Internal relationships of conures are poorly understood though it seems evident that, to make them a natural grouping, the Quaker parakeet¹, the thick-billed parrot, and ''Brotogeris''² should be included, and often are. Neotropical parakeets, macaws, and other are also candidates potential for inclusion. In this scheme, "conure" would comprise members of the genera:

★ ''Aratinga''

★ ''Pyrrhura''

★ ''Nandayus''

★ ''Guarouba''

★ ''Cyanoliseus''

★ ''Enicognathus''

★ ''Leptosittaca''

★ ''Ognorhynchus''

★ ''Conuropsis''

★ ''Rhynchopsitta'': Thick-billed parrot

★ ''Myopsitta'': Quaker parakeet
Macaws:

★ ''Ara''

★ ''Anodorhynchus''

★ ''Cyanopsitta''

★ ''Diopsittaca''

★ ''Orthopsittaca''

★ ''Primolius''
In addition the caiques and the hawk-headed parakeets have also been proposed for inclusion. Both the caiques and the Hawk-headed parakeets have a heavier build and different tail structure from traditional conures.
¹The Quaker or Monk parakeet is technically a conure by almost anybody's definition, but due to its popularity in aviculture and its uniqueness, it is generally considered in a category of its own.
²''Brotogeris'' are not only often counted as conures, but as parrotlets as well, and it is not clear precisely which one, or both, or neither, they belong to. Certainly the tail structure is different from that of the parrotlets, although the basic body structure seems to be analogous with both groups.

Trivia

A Blue-Crowned Conure was the star of the family movie Paulie.

Nonnative Conure Colonies

Conures are highly adaptable to urban environments, and several nonnative colonies have been observed globally. The exact origins of such colonies are generally unverifiable.

Washington State

In the USA state of Washington, a conure colony has taken up residence in a peninsula park, namely Seward Park (Seattle).

San Francisco, CA

There is a colony of Cherry-headed conures living in Telegraph Hill, San Francisco. They were the subject of the film The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.

Long Beach, CA

A colony of Half-moon conures has been observed in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, CA since the late 1980s.

See also

★ Sun Conure

★ Golden Conure

References