Conures A Class Act.

CONURES have been among my favourite birds since the 1970s. There is something particularly engaging about their behaviour, whether they are kept in aviaries for breeding or as a single pet.

Lately, I have noticed that conure breeding is increasing in the UK. The trend seems to be towards breeding mutations, particularly of the green-cheeked conure (Pyrrhura molinae). A number of breeders are engaged in creating new colours of this quiet conure.

During my travels in Europe, USA, Africa and Asia over the years, I have seen many different conures in zoos, public and private bird gardens and the aviaries of my friends.

One of my greatest pleasures has been seeing rare conures in such settings and marvelling at how many different types exist, from the smaller birds around 24cm (9Yzin) upwards to the chunky greater Patagonian conure at a whopping 53cm (21in).
In the 1980s, I went to Lisbon, Portugal, for the Christmas holiday. I remember spending a chilly afternoon in the delightful Lisbon Zoo. That was the first place where I saw a large selection of different conures in numerous aviaries.

Rolls-Royce of conures.
IT WAS at this zoo that I first saw what I consider to be the
'Rolls-Royce' of conures, the magnificent Queen of Bavaria's
or golden . conure (Aratinga guarouba).
In my opinion, this is the most beautiful of all the conures.
At 36cm (14in), with such striking yellow coloration mixed with
green on various parts of the body, it really is splendid to
observe, especially in flight.

The best specimens I have seen in recent years have been
at Loro Parque in Tenerife. I have never forgotten my first sight
of this marvellous bird. You cannot and should not aspire to such
a bird as this for a pet, but to view it in the right setting is a rare treat.
You may have heard that conures are very noisy. This is true of the
Aratinga conures; even the little ones have a propensity to be loud,
some more than others. These days, though, so many conures are
hand-reared for the pet market in the UK that you can train a youngster
to be reasonably quiet. This has been proved by the growing popularity
of the sull con ute (Aratinga solstitialis). This resembles the mighty
Queen of Bavaria's to a degree in coloration. One of the best of
these I have seen belongs

to a young lady who used to exhibit her talented pet in many of the UK bird shows. It had a great ability for mimicry and could talk quite well. During Christmas 2004, I looked after one of these birds while the owner Went abroad, and I found this one also had a good vocabulary and a very engaging personality.

This was a bird that loved everybody, and anyone who came through the door was greeted with a flurry of wings as my boarder flew straight on to their shoulder. During the two weeks in my care, this comical and entertaining little character never made any unpleasant noise, so full marks to the owner!

One conure that was very popular in the 1970s was the golden-crowned or peachfronted (Aratinga aurea), but many breeders gave up on breeding these because of their reputation for noise. They were once imported in large numbers.

Mexico no longer allows the Petz's to be exported, and this has been the case for a long time. Back in 1973, the Petz's was regarded as the third most popular cage bird in the USA. I can well understand why from my experience. Years later, when I purchased four maroonbellied conures from a friend, I found them very quiet - a bit boring in comparison with Jim (see below). I passed them on to a keen breeder who admired their charm.

I have also owned a red-masked conure (Aratinga erythrogenys) that I named Toby. He appeared with me in 1985 on the BBC programme Breakfast Time and was admired by presenter Frank Bough.

Toby was an attractive bird and had a great personality. He was 33cm (Bin) in size. This was a 'charitable' purchase as he was languishing alone in a pet shop because he was loud. I found him a home with a breeder at a later date as it was hard to find birds to pair up. I have often purchased birds over the years to pass on to friends who needed a mate to make up a pair, and I used to find this satisfying. Eventually, however, I realised that I never wanted to let a bird go once I brought it home, and unless I bought a larger property, I had to be sensible!

If you wish to guarantee a quiet conure, you need look no further than the Pyrrhura conure. As opposed to Aratingas, these are the truly quiet ones. Look out for the names maroon-bellied conure (Pyrrhura /rontalis) and green-cheeked conure (Pyrrhura molinae). These are quite similar in appearance in many ways while juveniles, but once the maroon belly becomes apparent, the difference is obvious.

Mutations to come.
MANY breeders are engaged in trying to establish mutations of the two conures mentioned above. I think there may well be blues and lutinos appearing before long. I am not up to speed on this, so I do not know if this has been achieved as yet. I just hope that the normal colour will not be obliterated, as has happened in the past with some birds where you suddenly found it hard get a true normal. This happened with Gouldians to an extent and with lovebirds and ring-necked parakeets.

I have mixed feelings about mutations. It is fine if we preserve a strain of purebred normals, but undesirable if true normals are allowed to disappear.

My favourite of the Pyrrhura conures is one that is not kept as a pet, but is a magnificent aviary bird that I have seen at a number of foreign bird gardens. It is the colourful crimsonbellied conure (Pyrrhura perlata perlata). It is rare but breeds fairly well. I have observed this bird in a number of European collections, most notably at Loro Parque. Here you are guaranteed to see many birds that you might not encounter elsewhere. At 25cm (lOin) in size, this is a real little gem which has all the endearing qualities of personality that you will find with all the conures.

The reason I like these birds so much is that they are all natural comedians and acrobats and have great intelligence and a propensity for performing to an audience. There is no such thing as a miserable, boring conure, take it from me. I have seen so many and kept some of the less exotic ones, too.

The greater Patagonian conure (Cyanoliseuspatagonus hyroni) is a really large and striking bird. At 53cm (21in), this gentle giant was in danger of vanishing and down to around 3,000 at one point. The bird collections in the Canary Islands have made an effort here, and I have recently seen some in the USA, so hopefully they will continue to prosper.

There are so many conures that are worthy of mention, but some are harder to find than others, and availability and popularity have altered over the years since I first developed my interest in conures. Another noisy but striking-looking individual is the Nanday conure (Nandayus nenday), about 3lcm (12in) in size, which, I have noticed, still turn up from time to time. Hand-reared young are said to be much less inclined to shout, but those I have seen in bird gardens have all been very vocal. I have not been tempted to own one, so I cannot give an opinion of their noise-making potential from experience.

The most unusual of the conure clan is the slender-billed (Enicognathus leptorhynchus). At first, you might not realize that this large bird (4lcm/16in) is actually a conure. The slender beak is so unusual, and its shape and stance are very different to other conures. It was rarely seen until the mid-1970s, but I have seen large collections of these abroad; when they start breeding, they seem to be very prolific.

Surprising appearance.
SOMETIMES, birds you would not expect to encounter turn up unexpectedly. I actually saw two hand-reared conures which I thought were very rare at a bird show a few years ago. These were the mitred conure (Aratinga mitrata). It
is a large bird at 38cm (15in). Big and noisy, yes, but friendly and entertaining, I nearly succumbed to the temptation of buying one of these superb birds which both had great personalities. However, common sense prevailed, and reluctantly I decided that one might not make a suitable chum for a reasonably quiet and well-behaved macaw!

Conures have so much to offer, as long as you shop around carefully and gain as much information as you can about a prospective purchase. The smaller ones will provide you with companionship and amusement for between 20 and 25 years, and you will never have trouble finding a holiday carer for such a pet because they are so much fun.

My hot tip for an Aratinga conure which can be tutored to be a quiet pet is the colourful and delightful sun conure. Buy from a private breeder if possible and make sure you obtain a genuine youngster.

Recently, I saw an advertisement from a breeder for a St Thomas or brown-throated conure (Aratinga pertinax). At 25cm (Win), it is an ideal size, and from observing these at Laro Parque, I think they have good pet potential if you can obtain a hand-reared youngster. However, it would be better still if you could consider trying to obtain a pair with which to breed, as this conure was considered rare the last time I read about it in an article on conures.

_{source Bird Keeper Mag.}