Blue-Crown Conure

The blue-crown conure is one of the larger members of the conure family found in South America. Less exuberant in colors as some of its cousins, it has gained immense popularity in the country as pets over the past couple of decades.

Blue Crown Conure

Blue Crowned Conure

Scientific Classification
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Psittaciformes
Superfamily	Psittacoidea
Family	Psittacidae
Subfamily	Arinae
Tribe	Arini
Genus	Thectocerus
Scientific Name	Thectocerus acuticaudatus

Quick Information
Other Names	Blue-crowned conure, blue-crowned parakeet, Blue-hooded Conure, Blue-capped Conure, Conure à front bleu, Conure à tête bleue, Perriche à tête bleue (French), Aratinga Cabeciazul, Calacante común, Calancate, Calancate Común (Spanish)
Size	14.5in (36.83cm)
Weight	4.9-6.7oz (140-190g)
Color	Green bodies, blue crowns, undersides of the tail are various shades of red, bi-colored beaks, upper-beak is grayish black or horn-colored, lower is black, white eye-ring. Sexually dimorphic, however, dimorphism between genders may be visible only to the most experienced eyes
Subspecies	T. a. acuticaudatus T. a. haemorrhous T. a. koenigi T. a. neoxenus T. a. neumanni
Distribution	East of Colombia to Argentina
Habitat	Savannas, forest edges, and woodlands, they like to avoid forests with high humidity like the Amazon
Sounds & Calls	Vocally very active and tend to scream loudly, alarmed birds give out a ‘whreee’ or ‘whraaa’ call, perched or birds in flight make calls like ‘whiii’, ‘wriiii’
Clutch	3-4 white eggs
Incubation Period	24-26 days
Fledging	52 days after hatching
Breeding Age	2-3 years
Lifespan	25-30 years, some have been known to live for up to 40 years of age
Diet	Seeds, nuts, fruits, berries and leaf-buds in its natural habitat
IUCN Conservation Status	Least Concern

As pets

The blue-crowned parakeet is one of the most popular as pets among the conure species, with its popularity graph experiencing a spike since the 1998 movie Paulie. Its playful and intelligent personality has certainly helped its cause for more acceptance from pet owners across the country and elsewhere.

Blue Crown Conure Size

Blue Crown Conure Pictures

Housing

If you intend to keep your blue-crowned conure inside a cage for extended periods of time, make sure that the cage size is big enough so as to not make the bird feel cooped up. Either way, there should be perches for the bird to sit on and chewable toys provided so that it can enjoy its time alone to its satisfaction. You may also choose to provide nest boxes.

Temperature

Keep the bird away from extreme temperatures that are found near the kitchen, or around the main entrance of the house. Place the cage where it gets some natural sunlight.

Temperament & Behavior

Blue-crowned conures have gentle and affectionate characteristics and like to be in interaction with their owners as much as possible. They are, however, prone to screaming loudly which can annoy your neighbors and indeed yourself. They rarely become aggressive and are not prone to biting, in case they get on the verge of aggression, taking a cue from the body language and preemptive pacification is not much of a hassle.

The blue-crowned has the best talking ability among the conures although its efficacy as such is moderate at best compared to other parrot species.

Because of their playful nature, they can be easily trained to do tricks, albeit with some positive reinforcement.

Baby Blue Crown Conure

Blue Crown Conures

Feeding

Provide your bird with tropical fruits as regularly as possible, but give it fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. You should also provide them with a diet of seeds and pellets at least thrice a week. Ensure that you vary the diet up from time to time; otherwise, the bird will eventually get bored and physical complications will soon arise.

Care

Trim the nails of the bird every couple of months. Keep a regular check on new feather growth on the wings, and if found, clip them as and when required. They enjoy spray showers of warm water and watching them bathe on their own in a dish of sufficiently warm water is a sight for sore eyes.