Colorful, intelligent, and noisy, conures are small- to medium-sized parrots, which make excellent pets. This BirdEden article provides interesting information and pictures of different conure species.
We are cuddly!
Conures love being pampered and cuddled. They are very social birds and develop deep bonds with humans. In fact, some pet conures have a favorite person too!
Conures are basically a type of parrots, which are colorful and comical. In fact, they are called “clowns of the parrot world” due to their attention-seeking behavior. The term “conure” is mostly used in aviculture, whereas the American Ornithologists’ Union uses the term “parakeets.” All the living species of conures are found in Central and Southern America. Conures have an average lifespan of 20 – 30 years. They make excellent pets as they are very intelligent, social, and attractive.
Different Species of Conures
Black-capped Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura rupicola
- Appearance: It is a small bird, around 9.8 inches and green in color. It has black caps, whitish neck and breasts, and red upper wings.
- Native Region: Eastern Amazon Basin from Peru to Bolivia
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Near Threatened
Blue-crowned Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga acuticaudata
- Appearance: It is a large bird, around 15 inches in size. It is green in color, but has blue coloring on the cheeks, forehead, crown, and ears. It also has featherless rings around its eyes.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Blue-throated conure (or Ochre-marked parakeet)
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura cruentata
- Appearance: It is a medium-sized bird, around 12 inches, which is mostly green in color. It has a prominent blue-colored patch on its chest and red markings on its belly, shoulders, and rump.
- Native Region: Brazil
- Noise Level: Loud
- IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Brown-throated Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga pertinax
- Appearance: It is a small bird, around 10 inches in size. It is green-colored, with the lower parts being slightly lighter than the upper. It is distinguished by its brown-colored throat.
- Native Region: Northern South America
- Noise Level: Loud
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Cherry-headed Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga erythrogenys
- Appearance: As the name suggests, it has a red-colored head. It is mostly green and is around 13 inches long.
- Native Region: Southwest Ecuador, Northwest Peru
- Noise Level: Noisy
- IUCN Status: Near Threatened
Crimson-bellied Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura perlata
- Appearance: It is a small bird, around 9.5 inches long. It is a very colorful bird; it has yellow-green cheeks, blue lower cheeks, blue collar, brown chest, and a striking red belly.
- Native Region: South Central Amazon Basin
- Noise Level: Quiet
- IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Dusky-headed Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga weddellii
- Appearance: It is medium-sized, around 11 inches long. It is green in color and has a gray-brown head.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Low
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Fiery-shouldered Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura egregia
- Appearance: It gets its name from the orange-colored patch on its shoulders. Otherwise, it is mostly green. It is a small bird, around 10 inches long.
- Native Region: Brazil and Guyana
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Gold-capped Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga auricapillus
- Appearance: It is a large bird, around 13 or 14 inches long. It is mostly green in color. The area near the eyes and forehead is red.
- Native Region: Brazil and Paraguay
- Noise Level: Loud
- IUCN Status: Near Threatened
Green-cheeked Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura molinae
- Appearance: It is a small bird, up to 10 inches long. It has green cheeks, blue primary feathers, a maroon tail, and a black or brown crown.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Low to moderate; quieter than other conures
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Jenday Conure (or Jandaya Parakeet)
- Scientific Name: Aratinga jandaya
- Appearance: It has green feathers and tail, orange-red body and cheeks and yellow head. It is a medium-sized bird, up to 12 inches long.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate to loud
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Maroon-bellied Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura frontalis
- Appearance: It is a medium-sized bird, up to 11 inches long. It is primarily green with a prominent maroon-colored patch on its belly.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Mitred Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga mitrata
- Appearance: It is a large bird around 15 inches long. It is mostly green in color with patches of red on the face and thigh. It has a prominent bare white eye-ring.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Nanday Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga nenday
- Appearance: It is mostly green except for its head which is black in color. It is a medium-sized bird, around 12 inches long.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Loud
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Orange-fronted Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga canicularis
- Appearance: It has avery distinctive hed with blue crown, orange forehead, yellow eye ring and white bill. It is a small bird , up to 9.5 inches long.
- Native Region: Mexico, Central America
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Painted Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura picta
- Appearance: It is a very colorful bird. It has red-colored rump, belly, and tip, blue-colored primary wings, and blue forenape and crown. It is a small bird, around 8.5 to 9.6 inches long.
- Native Region: Northern South America
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Patagonian Conure (or Burrowing Parrot)
- Scientific Name: Cyanoliseus patagonus
- Appearance: It is a very large bird, up to 18 inches long. It is mostly green with a distinctive red-colored patch on its belly.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate to loud
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Peach-fronted Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga aurea
- Appearance: It is a small bird, up to 10 inches long. It is named after the peach colored patch on the forehead.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Pearly Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura lepida
- Appearance: It has blue-green cheeks, whitish eye rings, a dark head, and a green belly. It is a small bird, about 9.3 to 10 inches long.
- Native Region: Brazil
- Noise Level: Moderate
- IUCN Status:Vulnerable
Red-fronted Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga wagleri
- Size: It is mostly green with yellowish underparts and red forehead. It is a large bird, up to 14 inches long.
- Native Region: Columbia, Ecuador
- Noise Level: Loud
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
Sun Conure
- Scientific Name: Aratinga solstitialis
- Appearance: It has yellow plumage and orange-colored underparts and plumage. It is a medium-sized bird, up to 12 inches long.
- Native Region: South America
- Noise Level: Moderate to Loud
- IUCN Status: Endangered
White-eared Conure
- Scientific Name: Pyrrhura leucotis
- Appearance: It is a small bird, around 8.5 inches long. It is predominantly green, but has a brown crown and white ears.
- Native Region: Eastern Brazil
- Noise Level: Quiet; makes calls when alarmed or excited
- IUCN Status: Near Threatened
Interesting Facts
- Conures make excellent pets. They are very friendly birds who love to play around. It is very important for a pet conure to spend some time with the family members.
- They need big cages and a variety of toys for enrichment. Wooden toys, strings, hanging toys, and cotton ropes can be very useful toys to keep them busy. Mirror toys can cause behavioral problems in conures.
- In the wild, conures usually eat wild berries, fruits, nuts, and insects.
- Pet conures mostly eat parrot pellets, seeds, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Coffee, chocolate, or other sweets can be dangerous for your bird.
- All conures are noisy! Green-cheeked conures are quieter (relatively!) than other conures.
- They may not be suitable as pets for people living in apartments. You don’t want all your neighbors complaining when your conure starts screeching at dawn.
- If trained, conures can speak some words. But they are not great speakers; they usually make different calls.
- The largest conure is the Patagonian conure, which is around 18 inches. The Painted conure, which hardly grows up to 9 inches is the smallest.
Conures are very inquisitive birds who make great companions. All they need is your attention and love. Keeping them as pets is a huge responsibility, but they are totally worth the effort!