Maroon-bellied Conures
Conures as Pets ...
Conure Foods ... Diseases of the Conure ... Books about Conures The Maroon-bellied Conure is often confused with the Green-cheeked Conure. They are very similar in disposition and looks. However, the Green-cheeked Conure is more available than the Maroon-bellied Conure.
Description
The Maroon-bellied conure is a smaller bird approximate lengths is 9 - 10 inches. It is a very quiet bird like all the Pyrrhuras and is often mistaken for the Green-cheeked conure. There is little difference between the two except the coloring. The Maroon-bellied conure's tail is a green color on top and lightly maroon colored underneath, while the green Cheek conure's tail has a dark maroon color. The belly is somewhat darker than the Green Cheek's.
Maroon-bellied conure prices vary from $125 to 250 Dollars, depending on location and availability.
Personality
These birds have a very sweet personality and are growing fast in popularity. They are bold, independent, yet very affectionate. The Maroon-bellied Conures are intelligent, friendly and active. They adapt easily to human contact and are easily trained.
They have the reputation of being quiet, compared to the other conures. However, they are still noisy enough to potentially upset the neighbors of apartment dwellers or annoy those that are sensitive to noise. Like other conures, they tend to express excitement with a serious of loud, shrill sceams.
They truly enjoy bathing and even showering with their owners. They also like dunking their food into their drinking water -- creating a messy soup requiring the water to be changed frequently. A water bottle may be a good choice, if you are not able to change the water several times a day. However, bathing water needs to be provided daily.
Maroon-bellied conure love to eat fruits and vegetables, which should be provided to them daily in addition to seeds and pellets.
Care and Feeding:
Conures love to climb and play and need to be provided with a cage that allows them to move around freely and toys to entertain themselves with. Please refer to the following websites for information:
- Optimal nutrition to keep your bird healthy
- Housing your bird
- The 3 Key Elements to Your Pet Bird's Happiness and Health
- Caring for your companion bird
Training and Behavioral Guidance:
Pet parrots generally present challenges, such as excessive screaming and chewing. They do discover their beaks as method of "disciplining us" once they are out of the "baby stage" and they can generally be somewhat naughty, and it really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established. Undisciplined parrots will chew on electric wiring potentially causing house fires. They regard anything in your home as a "toy" that can be explored and chewed on; destroying items that you may hold dear or are simply valuable. Even a young bird that has not been neglected and abused requires proper guidance; this becomes even more challenging when it involves a rescued bird that may require rehabilitation.
- Web Resources: I put together web resources for you to help you understand your pet bird and properly direct him. Please visit this website for valuable tips on parrot behavior and training.
- If you are, as I am, a visual learner and prefer step-by-step instructions to train your pet, I recommend:
- the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
- Stop Biting
- Perform Tricks &
- Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own
- and/or try the "Teach Your Parrot to Talk" Training Course.
- the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
Breeding / Reproduction:
These conures are fairly easy to breed. Below are the dimensions of nesting boxes usually used for these conures. However, the dimensions can vary widely, as they are influenced by the owner's and the birds' preferences. The preferences of the breeding birds can also be influenced by the size and type of nest-box / log in which the bird was hatched and reared.
If space allows, offering a choice of sizes and types of logs or nest-boxes, and placed in various locations within the aviary, can allow the parent birds to make their own choice. Once a pair has chosen a specific nest-box/log and been successful in it, offer that one to them each breeding season. Try and keep that one for their exclusive use. Once a pair has chosen its log or nest-box, the other ones can generally be removed. If the "spare" boxes are to be removed and moved to another flight, ensure the log / nest-box is cleaned to ensure the receptacle has the minimal contamination of mites, parasites and pathogens.
Log / Nest-box:
- Length / depth: 400 - 600 mm (or approx. 16 - 24 inches)
- Log internal diameter approx. 250 - 300 mm. (or approx. 10 - 12 inches)
- Nest-box internal dimensions approx. 250 mm square (or approx. 10 inches square)
- Diameter of entrance hole approx. 70 - 80 mm (or approx. 3 inches)
- Inspection hole: Square or round) 100 mm (or approx 4 inches)
- A Removable top / lid can be a useful access point for inspections and for cleaning.
- Location and height of log / nest-box = in a sheltered part of the aviary and at about 1.5 - 1.8 metres height, but not too close to the roof to cause heat problems in the hotter months
- Angle of log or nest box = 45 degrees through to vertical. Most boxes are vertical.
- Nesting log / nest-box material: Decomposed non-toxic saw dust, wood shavings or other suitable material/s.
- Incubation: Hen / cock / both share in incubating the eggs.
Conures have a habit of removing all the nest box material and laying their eggs on the bare wooden base.
Nest inspection is generally not tolerated. If nest inspection is necessary, wait till both parents have left the nest. They can be aggressive and protective of the nest area when breeding.
For additional breeding-related information, please visit this website.
Names: Scientific Pyrrhura ... English: Red-tailed Conures ... Dutch: Roodstaartparkieten ... German: Rotschwanzsittiche ... French: Perruche à queue rouge
Species: Scientific:
Pyrrhura frontalis frontalis ... English: Maroon-bellied
Conure ... Dutch: Bruinoorparkiet ... German: Braunohrsittich
... French: Perruche à bandeau 
Sub-Species: frontalis,
kriegi, chripepe
CITES II- Endangered
Distribution: South-eastern Brazil
Related Websites: Lexicon of Parrots
Sub-species:
Azara's Conures: Genus:
Scientific: Pyrrhura ... English: Red-tailed
Conures ... Dutch: Roodstaartparkieten ... German: Rotschwanzsittiche
... French: Perruche à queue rouge Species: Scientific:
Pyrrhura frontalis chiripepe ... English: Azara's Conures
... Dutch: Azara's Bruinoorparkiet ... German: Paraguay
Braunohrsittich, Azarasittich ... French: Perruche Azara CITES
II - Endangered Distribution: Paraguay, Uruguay, Northern Argentina Related Websites: Lexicon of Parrots (Please scroll down to no. 2 - click on link to view photo.)
Blaze-winged Conures: Genus: Scientific: Pyrrhura ... English: Red-tailed Conures ... Dutch: Roodstaartparkieten ... German: Rotschwanzsittiche ... French: Perruche à queue rouge
Species: Scientific: Pyrrhura devillei aka Pyrrhura frontalis devillei ... English: Blaze-winged Conure, Deville's Conure ... Dutch: Deville's Parkiet ... German: Bolivien Rotschwanzsittich, Devillesittich ... French: Perruche Deville CITES II - Endangered Distribution: Eastern Bolivia, Northern Paraguay, South-western Mato Grosso, Brazil Related Websites: Lexicon of Parrots (Please scroll down to no. 3 - click on link to view photo.)
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
