Parrot Link

Austral Conure

Austral Conure
enicognathus ferrugineus

Length: 33cms/13 inches
Weight: +/- 150 grams
Life span:  30+ years
Incubation: 26 days
Age at weaning: 12-14 weeks
Age at maturity: 2 years
Natural habitat: Chile and Argentina

Austral Conures inhabit the forests of Chile and Argentina and they can be seen in flocks of up to one hundred, occasionally more.  They can be found up to a height of 1000 metres in the Andes and they move down into the foothills during bad weather.  The severity of the weather conditions, and the availability of food, are the main reasons for flock movements. 

Austral Conures spend much of the day in trees and shrubs searching for food, during this time they are quite inconspicuous, landing at the top of the trees and scrambling down through the branches.  They are acrobatic birds sometimes feeding hanging upside down from branches, and their raucous metallic screech that they make whilst in flight can be heard for some distance.

Their diet consists of seeds, berries, fruits, leaf buds, acorns and bulbous roots.  In farmland they cause considerable damage to ripening crops whilst feeding on the grain.  Their favourite food seems to be the seeds of the Araucaria Araucana, better known to us as the Monkey Puzzle Tree, and swarms of parrots will fly to Araucaria forests when the seeds are ripe.

They nest in hollows in trees, often deserted woodpeckers nests or in the top of dead palms.  A normal clutch is 4-8 eggs.

The plumage of the Austral Conure is mostly a dull green, and their feathers have a barred appearance due to the dusky tips.  Their crown is tinged with blue and here the tips of their feathers are greyish black.  Their forehead and lores are reddish brown and they have a brownish red patch in the centre of their abdomen.  Their primaries, and primary coverts, are green tinged with blue and their tail is a brownish red tipped with green.  They have a grey beak and their iris's are reddish brown.  Immature birds are similar to adults, only the reddish brown markings on their forehead and abdomen are duller.

Interesting fact: An aviculturist reported a nest of ten eggs laid in an old tree log in a large aviary, all the eggs were fertile!

 

 

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