Blue Crowned Conure At Appleton Exotics
Blue crowned conure is used to describe the subspecies Aratinga acuticaudata haemorrhous that has less blue, restricted more to the forehead and the front part of the crown.
Distribution:
Blue crowned conure’s are native to the central areas of South America from eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela south to Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. They inhabit the more arid regions of tropical zones living in thickets, grasslands, savannahs, and along the edge of forests.
Description:
The Blue crowned conure is a small member of the parrot family. The whole head as well as the cheeks and ear coverts are blue, and sometimes there is a tinge of blue on the breast.
They have a generally green plumage that is more yellowish underneath. The outer wings are a blue-brown going to a chestnut brown on the secondary outer feathers. The tail of the Blue crowned conure or “Sharp-tailed Conure” is long and tapered.
This picture of a juvenile shows the beautiful maroons on the underside of the tail feathers. The central tail on a mature bird is green with the outer feathers being more brownish-red tipped with a golden-olive.
The upper beak is horn colored with a gray tip and the lower mandible is grayish-black.
They have a creamy white eye ring surrounding a yellow eye.
The legs are pinkish brown. A younger bird will have less blue on its forehead and crown with no blue on its breast.
Size/Weight:
The Blue-crowned Conure or Sharp-tailed Conure will get up to 11 3/4″ (37 cm), and weigh about 6.7 ozs (190g).
Care and feeding:
A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch. In the wild the Blue crowned conure eats berries, fruits, seeds, and nuts. As a pet they will enjoy a variety of sprouts, seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat.
Social Behavious:
They are sociable and live in small groups or sometimes in flocks up to about 100 birds. They love to play, and can be fairly destructive if not watched. They can also be rather loud though not nearly as noisy as some of their Aratinga cousins such as the Nanday, Sun, and Jenday Conures. They make a real fun, playful pet and are very popular.