Conures E-Book

Nikki Moustaki

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 159

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2006

Beschreibung

The adorable conure, named for its conically shaped tail, is one of the world's favorite parrots and the subject of this Complete Care Made Easy pet guide that presents new and experienced bird keepers with insight into every aspect of selecting, caring for, and maintaining well-behaved happy pet birds. Bird specialist and trainer Nikki Moustaki has written an ideal introductory pet guide about the boisterous conure, with chapters on the characteristics of the conure, the varied behaviors of these small macaw-like parrots in the wild, selection of a healthy, typical pet bird, housing and care, feeding, training, and health care. The chapters "The Many Conure Species" and "Selecting a Great Conure" offers potential owners excellent advice about dozens of species and how to select the best one from those available commercially, from the blue-crowned conure and the green-cheeked conure to the sun conure and red-fronted conure. In the chapter on housing and care, the author discusses selection of the right cage, placement of the cage, and all the necessary accessories. A bird's diet is critical to its ongoing health, and the chapter devoted to feeding gives the reader all the info he or she needs about choosing the best diet . The chapter "Conure Behavior and Training" gives expert advice about how to train the very talkative conure to speak and be quiet, too. The book concludes with an appendix of bird societies, a glossary of terms, and a complete index.

Leseprobe

Karla Austin, Business Operations Manager

Nick Clemente, Special Consultant

Barbara Kimmel, Managing Editor

Jarelle S. Stein, Editor

Jerry G. Walls, Technical Editor

Honey Winters, Designer

Indexed by Melody Englund

The conures in this book are referred to as he or she in alternating chapters unless their gender is apparent from the activity discussed.

Photographs copyright © 2006 Eric Ilasenko

Text copyright © 2006 by I-5 Press

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moustaki, Nikki, 1970-

  Conures : a guide to caring for your conure / by Nikki Moustaki ; photographs by Eric Ilasenko.       p. cm. — (Complete care made easy) ISBN 1-931993-93-9 eISBN-13: 978-1-937049-32-4 1. Conures. I. Title. II. Series.

SF473.C65M68 2006

636.6'865—dc22

2006010504

I-5 Press™

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

3 Burroughs

Irvine, California 92618

Printed and bound in Singapore

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Acknowledgments

Thanks to everyone at I-5 Press who has worked on this book, especially Jarelle Stein, patient editor extraordinaire.

Contents

1   The Boisterous Conure

2   The Many Conure Species

3   Selecting a Great Conure

4   Housing and Basic Care for Conures

5   Feeding Conures Right

6   Conure Behavior and Training

7   Keeping Your Conure Healthy

 Appendix

 Glossary

Two beautiful golden conures share a perch. Golden conures are one of many species that compose the diverse group of birds that are known as conures.

CONURES ARE DESCRIBED AS INTELLIGENT, BOISTEROUS, outgoing, clownish, and beautiful—characterizations that are true for each of the forty-two species that compose this group of Mexican and South and Central American parrots. Known primarily for their affectionate nature and loud voices, conures are great companions for people wanting birds who are eager to interact with their human families. Most conures can learn a few words, and patient owners may even be able to teach their birds to respond to a few simple commands.

What’s a Conure?

Parrots are a diverse group of birds. There are more than 350 species of parrots, among them the group of birds called conures. The word conure may have come from the Greek words for cone, kone, and tail-bearing, ourus. For many years, most of these birds were placed in the genus Conurus, meaning “conical tail,” and although this name is no longer used, it certainly led to the common name. Many scientific books on parrots refer to the conure species treated here as parakeets or parrots. The eighteen species in the Aratinga group of conures resemble little macaws and are even named accordingly: many of the macaws are in the genus Ara, so when you add the diminutive suffix “tinga,” you have the equivalent of “little macaw.”

Parrot Versus Parakeet

BEGINNING PARROT KEEPERS OFTEN BECOME FIXATED on the differences between a parrot and a parakeet. Although the word parakeet is widely applied to the budgerigar, a small Australian grass parrot, a parakeet is just a small parrot with a long tail that tapers to a point—the word has no real scientific meaning. All parrots, including those called parakeets, are members of the family Psittacidae. Lovebirds, conures, and macaws, among others, are also parrots, each a separate genus. The nine species of lovebirds, for example, occur in the single genus Agapornis, and conures belong mostly to the Aratinga and Pyrrhura genera. Most of the conures, with their long, tapered tails, fit the definition of parakeet, and some are called parakeets in major reference works.

Unlike certain parrots such as lovebirds and Amazons, conures do not fall into a natural grouping. Instead, they fall into two main genera (major groups of species), Aratinga and Pyrrhura, and a handful of related genera, Conuropsis, Cyanoliseus, Enicognathus, Guarouba, Nandayus, Leptosittaca, and Ognorhynchus, comprising a total of forty-two species. Both the Aratinga and Pyrrhura genera include species that are relatively small, generally just ten to fourteen inches long, and of slender build, with large, prominent beaks. The tail is long, about half the bird’s total length. The cere, the strip of skin at the base of the upper beak that contains the nostrils, is usually narrow and naked, but it may be partially covered with facial feathers. The nostrils are always visible, not covered with feathers. Unlike some macaws, conures never have a strip of bare skin between the eye and the base of the beak.

Green is the predominant color in conures, although the little conures of the genus Pyrrhura generally have red on or beneath the tail and have grayish green breasts with dark or light feather edges. You may hear the Pyrrhura conures being called scaly, but that doesn’t mean they have scales. The term scaly refers to how their feathers look—dark with light edges. When the feathers overlap, they form a scalloped pattern. Some other conures have startling colors, such as the large bright yellow golden conure (Guarouba guarouba), the orange and yellow (and green) sun conure (Aratinga solstitialis), and the multicolored large Patagonian conure (Cyanoliseus patagonus). Conures also have a distinct naked white ring around the eye called the periophthalmic ring.

The largely green coloring of this red-throoted conure (Aratinga rubritorquis) is a predominant characteristic of conures as a group. Colorful exceptions include the brightly hued sun and golden conures.

How Many Conures Are There?

HERE’S A LIST OF THE COMMON NAMES OF CONURES TOgive you an idea of how many species each genera comprises and where they are commonly found. Natural color mutations occurring in the species are noted next to the name. The number of subspecies is noted as well—these are variations in the species that usually occur due to geographic differences. They are the same species but may vary slightly in their coloring or size. Note that the Conuropsis, the Carolina parakeet, is extinct.

   Aratinga (Texas to Argentina, West Indies): Blue-crowned—three to six subspecies (blue); brown-throated—fourteen subspecies (blue); cactus—two subspecies; cuban; dusky (blue, lutino); Finsch’s; gold-capped—two subspecies; green—five subspecies; Hispaniolan—two subspecies; Jandaya; mitred—two subspecies; olive-throated—four subspecies; orange-fronted (half-moon)—three subspecies (blue); peach-fronted—two subspecies (blue); red-fronted—four subspecies (blue); red-masked; sun (pied); white-eyed—four subspecies

   Conuropsis (mid–North America to southern Mexico): Carolina—two subspecies (extinct)

   Cyanoliseus (southern South America): Patagonian—three subspecies (lutino, cinnamon)

   Enicognathus (southernmost South America): Austral—two subspecies; slender-billed

   Guarouba (Brazil): Golden

   Nandayus (Brazil to Argentina): Nanday (blue, cinnamon, lutino)

   Leptosittaca (Columbia to Peru): Golden-plumed (not kept regularly in captivity)

   Ognorhynchus (Columbia to Ecuador): Yellow-eared (the most endangered conure)

   Pyrrhura (Panama to Argentina): Black-capped—two subspecies (Voren strain); blue-throated; brown-breasted; el oro; fiery-shouldered—two subspecies; green-cheeked—five subspecies (yellow-sided, fallow, blue, cinnamon, pineapple); Hoffman’s—two subspecies; marooned-bellied—four subspecies (lutino, cinnamon, pied); maroon-tailed—five subspecies; painted—seven to nine subspecies (pied, dilute); pearly—four subspecies; red-eared—two subspecies ; rose-crowned; Santa Marta; white-eared—five subspecies (dilute); white-necked

Conures in the Wild

As you might expect of a group with more than forty species in several genera, the habits of the varied conures are far from uniform. This section is a general introduction to how conures function in the wild, which includes characteristics that many of the species do share; you’ll find the details of several interesting species later in the book.

Conure flocks are small, ranging from about five to one hundred individuals. They are noted for traveling quickly and erratically through the sky, emanating loud contact calls to keep in touch with each other. Even though the body color on most conures tends to be subdued, many (especially the scaly conures) have a distinctive pattern under their wings, which enables an observer below to identify them easily in flight. The subdued body color allows the birds to fade into the foliage of the trees or scrubland, where they make their homes. Like most other parrots, conures are active from about sunrise to sunset, when they may form large roosting flocks high in trees and disappear for the night.

The Carolina Parakeet

THE LAST NORTH AMERICAN PARROT WAS KNOWN ASthe Carolina parakeet, but the bird was actually a conure. They looked quite similar to the jandaya conure and were indigenous to the southern states, including the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and Texas, and were found as far north as Colorado. Because they were a nuisance, raiding farmers’ fields, they were killed in large numbers. Their feathers were also prized, and when they became endangered scientists killed off the last of them for their skins. The last known captive Carolina parakeet died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918, although some wild Carolina parakeets were sighted until 1920, when a frost hit their habitat and wiped out the remaining few birds. The stuffed skin of that last Carolina parakeet can be seen in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.

Where They Live

Nearly all conure species are tropical or subtropical parrots, although Patagonian conures and some others are found at the tip of South America in areas that have very severe winters. Most conures are found in and near tropical forests from Central America to Argentina, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. Several can be found in northern Mexico, including the green conure (Aratinga holochlora), who also seems to be a natural part of the United States fauna. These birds form large roosts near cities in southern Texas, where they can be found with escaped Amazons and other feral parrots who were introduced to the area as escaped pets. It’s not clear if the green conures are native to the area or if they are released companion birds and their descendants. A few species of conures are found on the islands of the Caribbean, including one species each of Aratinga on Jamaica, Cuba, and Hispaniola (a different species on each island).

The subtle greens and blues of blue-crowned conures such as this one allow them to blend into the woodlands and savannas of their homelands.

Most species live at relatively low altitudes, although some are restricted to montane forests and savannas. Scaly conures, the Pyrrhura, typically live in forested landscapes, often in humid, dense lowland forests with an abundance of fruiting trees. Although they may be difficult to see as they fly through the dark foliage of such forests, they are usually easy to hear. The Aratinga conures tend to be associated with open habitats, from forest edges and lightly wooded areas to true savannas and even cactus-bearing semideserts. They are nomadic to a certain extent, following ripening fruit and seed crops across their habitat.

Most conure species came from the tropical or subtropical areas of Central and South America but, some species are found in northern Mexico.

What They Eat

Conures in the wild feed heavily on fruits of many types, from strangler figs to mangoes and cactus fruits. They eat berries related to our common northern blueberries and blackberries and fruits of tropical trees. Some even eat nuts when they can find them. Many species are fairly adaptable and will eat a variety of seeds from trees, shrubs, and even grasses. Most feeding occurs in the trees, although conures will go to the ground to feed and to drink. Even species living in desertlike conditions require water each day, and their population may depend on whether water is available.

Where They Breed

Most conures nest in already existing tree holes that the parents hollow out. The exceptions are the Patagonian conure, who nests in holes in cliffs, and the half-moon, brown-throated, and Aztec conures, who nest in termite mounds. The Aztec conures hollow out a hole in a termite mound undaunted by the termites, which are irritated, to say the least, by the intrusion. After a while, the termites mend the broken areas in the walls of their mounds, and the birds have a perfect nest in which to raise their young.

A pair of golden conures babies have just begun to grow feathers. Like other parrots, conures are naked and blind when born.

Typical nests include three to six white eggs, which hatch about twenty-two to twenty-four days after incubation begins. As usual with parrots, the mother lays one or two eggs before starting incubation, so the chicks hatch over a period of several days. The young are altricial, meaning that when hatched they are naked, blind, helpless, and reliant on their parents for survival. The chicks develop quickly, nourished by regurgitated food offered by both parents. The male’s job is to go out and get food and to guard the nest along with the female. Depending on the species, the young leave the nest after about fifty days to test their wings, but they return to the nest for safety and to sleep. Following the parents to feeding grounds and weaning on to an adult diet may take another two to four weeks.

Communal Nesting

SOME CONURES, ESPECIALLY THE PATAGONIAN CONURE,golden conure, and red-fronted conure, are known to be communal, or colonial, nesters. Several females may nest adjacent to each other in a grove of trees or in holes in a cliff face, and in some cases more than one female may lay her eggs in the same nest. This can lead to as many as a dozen eggs in a nest, and it is thought that the females may share nesting duties. In a few cases, such as that of the Patagonian conure, the nests of a colony may actually be linked by short tunnels, allowing the birds to move to each other’s nests.

Conures in Your Home

Until the early 1990s, many species of conures were exported from Mexico and Central and South America on a regular basis, and they found homes in the aviaries of hobbyists around the world. Some species were collected in such large numbers each year that they began to disappear from their natural ranges. Although some countries had not allowed legal exportation of parrots for decades, species of conures found only in those countries still appeared on the world market, having passed illegally through traders in Argentina and other countries. Unrestricted importation of conures led to many legal problems and endangered some species with small ranges. It also posed a serious health threat to other captive parrots because the illegal birds hadn’t passed through quarantine to make sure they were healthy.

A green-cheeked conure perches in her cage, surrounded by toys.

CITES

NEARLY ALL PARROTS, INCLUDING ALL OF THE CONURES,are listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) under Appendix II. Trade of these birds between countries is closely restricted and monitored so the birds do not become endangered in their native habitats. The parrots listed in CITES Appendix I are endangered, and the list includes the golden conure (also called the queen of Bavaria conure). It is interesting that the CITES list takes into account only birds in their natural habitat, not the total population of a particular species in captivity. Many parrots threatened in the wild are common in captivity.

Despite the treaties restricting export and import, many conure species are in trouble in their native lands due to the many native collectors taking conures and other parrots from the wild to sell to exporters before the early 1990s, when increased demands from the pet trade led to reduced numbers of birds in the wild and trade in birds was far less restricted.

Loss of habitat is also to blame for the dwindling numbers of parrots. Many Aratinga conures live in relatively dry, open habitats, including savannahs and the edges of forests, which can be easily and cheaply converted to pastures and small farms. The scaly conures tend to live in forests being cleared for farms and a growing network of roads across much of South America. Loss of nesting holes is another major reason for the worldwide reduction of forest-dwelling parrots of all types. As their natural habitat is lost and changed, the birds are forced to attack planted fields and orchards, where farmers kill them as pests in large numbers.

Then, in the early 1990s, the United States and most European nations signed treaties that prevented most importations of wild parrots into their countries. Quarantine stations were closed, and parrots stopped coming into the United States—unless they were smuggled, of course. As a result, species that were abundant and cheap a few years earlier became expensive and virtually unavailable. This might not have been the case had breeders made a concerted effort to establish breeding lines of most species while conures were abundant. But they hadn’t, and relatively few captive-bred conures were available to pet owners. Even today, some conure species are either very expensive or completely unavailable. Small consortiums of serious aviculturists (people who breed birds) are sometimes allowed to bring in very rare species from other countries, but not without a lot of red tape.

Nanday conures, such as the one seen here, are usually available in bird specialty shops and pet stores.

Currently, the average person is likely to find the following species available on the market. Several of them are commonly sold in bird specialty shops and pet stores that handle birds. Some, however, may be available only through breeders advertising in bird magazines and on the Internet. The species you will probably see:

   Blue-crowned conure, Aratinga acuticauda

   Dusky conure, Aratinga weddellii

   Green-cheeked conure, Pyrrhura molinae

   Jandaya (Jenday) conure, Aratinga jandaya

   Nanday conure, Nandayus nenday

   Orange-fronted (half-moon) conure, Aratinga canicularis

   Peach-fronted conure, Aratinga aurea

   Sun conure, Aratinga solstitialis

Internet Information

Today, the first instinct of many avian hobbyists is to check the Internet for detailed and up-to-date information. Beware of Web sites and information that can lead you astray. There are, however, several good parrot clubs on the Internet that may be able to give you further information on conures and their care. Try these sites:

   American Federation of Aviculture,

      http://www.afabirds.org

   Bird Talk magazine,

      http://www.animalnetwork.com

   International Conure Association

      http://www.conure.org

   Pyrrhura Breeders Association,

      http://www.pyrrhurabreedersassociation.com

The closed band on the left leg of this sun conure signals that this is a captive-bred bird, not one smuggled into the country.

Although fewer than a dozen species of conures can be said to be readily available to the general pet owner, some are quite inexpensive. Prices tend to be lower for the less colorful species, such as orange-fronted or half-moon conures, and higher for colorful species, such as the sun conure. Regardless of cost or color, conures are outgoing little parrots noted for a virtually fearless personality that can easily lead them into trouble. The females of some species can be aggressive and may cause problems when housed with other birds or placed with a mate for breeding. Don’t spend time hunting for a male conure as a companion for this reason, though. Just find a bird who bonds with you. As personal companions, conures tend to be friendly and easily tamed.

A major complaint about keeping conures is that most species, including the smaller ones, are exceptionally vocal. Their calls tend to be less melodic and screechier and more persistent, and their calls carry for long distances. For this reason, many people—and their neighbors—may find conures annoying. This may be their single major disadvantage, and it often keeps them from being kept in apartments and condo developments.