Pacific Conure
Also known as:
Pacific Parakeet, Nicaraguan Green Conure or Parakeet
Also known as:
Pacific Parakeet, Nicaraguan Green Conure or Parakeet
DID YOU KNOW?
The Pacific Conure will roost with the Red-throated Conure, P. rubritorquis. The two species are otherwise very different behaviourally.
Size:
33 cm (12.8 in)
Weight:
250 g
Subspecies including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Both adults mostly green, yellowish on underparts; scattered orange/red feathers on throat and neck of some birds; blue tinge on primary coverts and outer webs of flight feathers; dull yellow/green underwing coverts; dull yellow undersides of flight feathers. Beak horn in colour. Eye ring bare and brown/grey. Eye orange.
Colour Juvenile:
As in adults but with brown eyes.
Call:
Calls made in flight are rolling, harsh and shrill. Also stronger, deeper notes.
More Information:
Content Sources:
Lexicon of Parrots
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989. 2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Captive Status:
Rare
Longevity:
Up to 35 yrs.
Housing:
Walk-in enclosure or suspended aviary, minimum length 2-3 m (6.5-9.8 ft).
Diet:
Fruits such as: apple, pear, orange, banana, pomegranate, cactus fruits, mangoes, papayas, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrots, celery, green beans and peas in the pod; fresh corn; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, kale, dandelion, sowthistle, chickweed; spray millet; small seed mix such as: canary, millet and smaller amounts of oats, buckwheat, safflower and a little hemp; soaked and sprouted sunflower seed; cooked beans and pulses and boiled maize; limited cubed hard cheese; complete kibble.
Enrichment:
Probably are vigorous chewers so provide plenty of bird-safe, unsprayed flowering, fir, pine, willow, elder or saskatoon branches and perches, wooden block or vegetable tanned leather chew toys; ladders, swings, ropes and play gyms. Also enjoys bathing so provide overhead misters or shallow water bowls.
Nest Box Size:
Diagonal nest box 25 cm x 40 cm x 30 cm (9.75 x 15.6 x 11.7 in).
Clutch Size:
4
Fledging Age:
Probably 8 weeks.
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
Unknown, possibly declining.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
As conspecific with Psittacara holochlorus.
Threat Summary:
Not currently considered endangered, however, it has a small range and is poorly known. It appears to once have been numerous in the late 1800s; during the last century it was largely overlooked. Fieldworkers have recently discovered it to be fairly common in Honduras. Occurs in Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya and Chocoyero-EI Brujo Wildlife Refuge.
Range:
Arid lowlands of the Pacific slope of Central America, from E Oaxaca, S Mexico to inland Guatemala and C Nicaragua.
Habitat:
Found up to 2500 m (8200 ft) in semi-deciduous forest, scrubby open woodlands, plantations and farmlands with scattered woodlots.
Wild Diet:
Takes Mimosa seeds, Myrica mexicana fruits, and maize recorded. Sometimes raids crops.
Ecology and Behaviour:
As in Green Conure (A. holochlora): resident, but will wander locally in response to seasonal changes in food availability. Often seen in flight in flocks up to 200 individuals, typically flying higher and with slower wingbeats than similar smaller parakeets. In Nicaragua, flock sizes tend to be larger in the wet season.
Clutch and Egg Size:
4 strongly elliptical eggs, 38.5 x 25.5 mm (1.5 x 1 in).
Breeding Season:
Timing unknown; nests are inside rock crevices or cavities in dirt banks, often colonially. Also possibly in tree cavities and termitaria.
Related Links:
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