Fiery-shouldered Conure (Pyrrhura egregia)

Fiery-shouldered Conure close up
© Steve Brookes

Photos

Did You Know?

The Pyrrhura conures are known as the escape artists in aviculture. Their inquisitiveness leads them to investigate any and every way possible to get out of their enclosures.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pyrrhura egregia

Species Profile

Genus: Pyrrhura | Species: egregia

Size:

26cm (10.1 in)

Weight:

75g (2.6 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

two: P.e. egregia, P.e. obscura

Colour Adult:

P.e. egregia: Both adults green breast with yellow/white and brown barring; brown/red centre of abdomen; yellow bend of wing, carpal edge and lesser underwing coverts, marked with orange/red; brown/red uppertail, dark grey undertail. Bill horn in colour. Eye ring bare and white. Eye brown.
P.e. obscura: Both adults as in egregia, but with darker green upperparts and slightly darker green underparts; brown/red on abdomen minimal or absent.

Colour Juvenile:

P.e. egregia: Green carpal edge and lesser underwing coverts; breast has less barring.

Call:

Calls made in flight are described as harsh and grating, heard before the birds are seen.

Listen Now

Video Links:

Video 1

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
ML Media Collection Catalogue 30414, Fiery-shouldered Parakeet Pyrrhura egregia, Parker, Theodore A., III, Venezuela, Aug. 28 1983, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Site
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006. 2010 edition
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt. A Guide to Popular Conures As Pet and Aviary Birds, Dorge and Sibley, 2001.

Fiery-shouldered Conure close up
© Steve Brookes

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

The Pyrrhura conures are known as the escape artists in aviculture. Their inquisitiveness leads them to investigate any and every way possible to get out of their enclosures.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pyrrhura egregia

Species Care

Captive Status:

Rare

Longevity:

Up to 35 yrs

Housing:

Aviary or suspended enclosure, minimum length 2m (6.5 ft).

Diet:

Fruit such as: apple, pear, orange, banana, pomegranate, cactus fruits, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green beans and peas in the pod; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, 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, boiled maize and complete kibble.

Enrichment:

Provide bird-safe, unsprayed flowering, fir, pine or willow branches, wooden and vegetable tanned leather toys, heat-sterilized pine cones, puzzle/foraging toys, swings, ladders and ropes.

Nest Box Size:

Vertical box 10" x 10" x 28" (25.4cm x 25.4cm x 71cm).

Clutch Size:

4-5

Incubation Time:

23 days

Fledging Age:

7 weeks

Hatch Weight:

Probably 5g (0.1 oz)

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

Not recorded.

Fiery-shouldered Conure close up
© Steve Brookes

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

The Pyrrhura conures are known as the escape artists in aviculture. Their inquisitiveness leads them to investigate any and every way possible to get out of their enclosures.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pyrrhura egregia

Species Wild Status

World Population:

Unknown, decreasing.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

Not globally threatened. A BirdLife “restricted-range” species. Apparently common, but there is considerable loss of habitat in the range of nominate egregia in Venezuela, but not of race obscura. Trade appears to be non-existent.

Range:

P.e. egregia: Highlands of W Guyana, SC Venezuela, and N Brazil.
P.e. obscura: SE Venezuela.

Habitat:

Found from 700-1800m (2296-5904 ft) in mountain forest and forest edge, including tall, dense secondary growth areas. May also visit village gardens and parks.

Wild Diet:

Feeds on fruits.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Seen in pairs or small family groups during breeding season; at other times in noisy flocks of up to 20 birds. Resident. Difficult to spot while feeding or resting in dense foliage.

Clutch and Egg Size:

4-5 eggs

Breeding Season:

March-June

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

The Pyrrhura conures are known as the escape artists in aviculture. Their inquisitiveness leads them to investigate any and every way possible to get out of their enclosures.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pyrrhura egregia

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