Cherry Head / Red-masked Conures

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Red-masked Conures (Aratinga erythrogenys) are native to South-western Ecuador, North-western Peru. While this conure is commonly referred to as the Red-masked Parakeet or Conure in its natural habitat, it is better known as Cherry-headed Conure in captivity.

Feral populations of escaped pet or breeder birds exist in the United States, specifically Florida and California, One of the most well-known feral populations in San Francisco have been documented in the film The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Judy Irving. Breeding populations have also been observed in San Diego County, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley and Sunnyvale. They have also been introduced into Spain. The birds have been observed feeding on various fruits and blooms and are frequently nesting in palm trees.

The Cherry-heade Conure is endangered in its natural habitat and in 1994 has has been reclassified from a species of least concern to a species near threatened.

• Similar species: Mitred Conures (Aratinga mitrata)

Description:

Red-masked Conures are medium-sized parrots that average 33 cm (13 in) in length, half of which is the tail.

They have a beautiful green plumage that is paler and more yellowish on the underside. The whole head is red, except for for the back half of the cheeks. There is also red on the shoulders, underside of the wings and the thighs. The eye is yellow surrounded by a white eye ring. The beak is horn colored and the legs are grey.

Young Red-masked Conures have grey eyes and lack the red on the head. The first red feathers appear at around the age of four months.

Its call is two-syllabled, harsh and loud.

Personality:

These charming conures are popular pets and are loved for their clowny personality. They will take every opportunity to show off the tricks that they have learned. They are intelligent and affectionate, easy to tame and are good talkers.

On the down-side, they can be very noisy and people who are sensitive to noise will find it irritating. They also like to chew and need to be provided toys and natural branches to chew and "customize" to their liking. They do enjoy a variety of toys and a larger cage to accommodate all those toys is recommended.

How much attention do they need?

Like all parrots, they are social birds. They do require daily interaction with their social group, entertainment, things to do -- or else they will become bored and develop behavioral problems. In the wild, they would never leave the company of their flockmates.  In a captive pet situation, a hand-fed conure requires the same social interaction from you and your family.

If you have little time to give, a parrot would not be a good choice for you.   You would need someone at home several hours a day at a minimum, preferably someone should be home most of the day. I would recommend that there be people at home, with the bird, for at least several hours every day or the majority of day. 

It's best to keep your pet conure where the center of activity is, usually the family room, and leave the cage door open or allow your pet to be on a playpen whenever someone is at home.  During this time some direct interaction should be provided, such as talking to your pet, petting it, or placing it on your shoulder while you surf the internet, watch tv or go about your other activities. My parrot even joins me in the gym! 

Do they make good family pets?

In general, conures make good family pets as long as they have been well socialized. They don't mind a lot of activity - in fact, the more "fun stuff" is going on, the more entertained and happier they tend to be. They usually get along well with all family members, although they are likely to eventually choose a favorite; but as long as they are exposed to, and socialized by, other family members, they should maintain their friendliness with the others. Conures love to be touched and handled - another reason why they often do well with kids.

However, they go through nippy phases that can be hard on children as well as on adults.  Teaching the child appropriate handling of the conure will help prevent some painful experiences - however, it will never entirely eliminate them. The tamest pet bird gets startled and bites - without this being a true reflection on its personality. It's a natural reaction. Experienced pet owners learn to read the body language of their pets and can avoid most of these "accidental encounters." Training is important to prevent an accidental bite from turning into a behavioral problem.

It is difficult to instruct smaller children on proper parrot handling, and their interactions with the conure should always be supervised. But children who have learned to handle the conure gently and confidently usually don't have a big problem with aggression. How well the child-parrot interaction goes really depends on the maturity level of the child, as well as the proper socialization-level of the parrot. Admittedly though, some genetics come into play as well. Some individual parrots are more aggressive than others. Often this is a family trait and one parrot pair produces sweet babies, while others produce nippy offspring. Sweet babies can turn nippy, if not socialized well, and nippy (usually nervous / fearful birds) can be taught to be good family pets. Birds do pick up on stress and anger that we humans may feel and this can impact their personality and likelihood to be aggressive towards us. It is always best to approach a bird calmly and focus on, and enjoy, the interaction with the parrot rather than reflecting on problems in your life. Doing so will actually be conducive to your own health, as it will help you relax.

There never will be a guarantee that a meaningful relationship between the children in the family and the pet parrot develops and if things don't go well, the conure may end up being a pet for the adults only.  For this reason, it is not recommended to buy a parrot as a pet for the kids - this needs to be a family pet, with the adults taking on most of the responsibility.

Training and Behavioral Guidance:

Conures, albeit their smaller size, do present their challenges, and they are not the best "starter" birds, although some species are easier to keep than others. It really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established.

Conures are known for their loud and harsh calls, which is a natural way of communication and social interaction and shouldn't be "trained away" -- however, they can develop into excessive screamers, which really requires early intervention.

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. Behavioral challenges that conures present include:

• Excessive Chewing: Any parrot will chew. In nature, they use their beak to "customize" their favorite tree, to enlarge the size of their nest in a tree hollow. Doing this keeps their beaks in good condition. The problem is excessive and undesirable chewing. Undisciplined conures will chew on electric wiring potentially causing house fires. The owner needs to provide plenty of "healthy" chewing opportunities (bird toys, natural wood branches, etc.) and training is necessary to teach your pet what is "off-limits."



• Biting: Conures can become nippy. Like most parrots they are likely to discover their beaks as a method of "disciplining us" once they are out of the "baby stage." It really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established.



• The "Noise" Factor: As is the case with all conure species, the Red-masked Conure has a reputation for being noisy. Not everybody can tolerate their high-pitched screech that can be annoying. However, even though it can't (or should not) be entirely eliminated, there are ways to discourage screaming / screeching in your conure.

Training and behavioral guidance will help your pet be the kind of companion you want it to be ...

• AvianWeb 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 found a way to resolve a "parrot behavioral issue" please share it with others.


• 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.

If you are considering a conure as a pet, the following web resources might be of interest:

• Procuring your Parrot
  
  
• Breeders:
  
  
  • Ohio, Columbia Station: Dr. Geoff Gammon - Certified Avian Specialist; Forest Park Aviaries
    Address: Royalton Road, Columbia Station, Ohio 44028, Tel: 440-236-6355 - Websites: http://www.forestparkaviaries.com/ , http://www.birdbreedersinternational.com/index.html, http://www.tropicalbirds.org/,http://www.forestparkaffiliates.com/index.html

    Breeds: Pacific Parrotlets (green, blue, yellow, split mutations); Quaker Parrots (green, blue mutation); Senegal Parrots; and various species of Conures (Suns, Green-cheeks and their several mutations, Brown-throats, Peach-fronts, Cherry-heads, etc.) - Will Ship

  • Click here for more breeders. Do you breed this species and would like to be listed? Click here to see your options.
  
  


• Housing & Caring for Your Conure: 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
  
  
  
  • Parrot Products

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. 

The average clutch size is 3 to 4 eggs, which are incubated for 23 to 24 days. In their natural habitat, the nests are usually made in tree cavities. In captivity, a conure box is commonly used and readily accepted. Juvenile birds fledge after 50 days with green plumage.

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: 16 - 24 inches (400 - 600 mm)



• Log internal diameter approx. 10 to 12 inches (250 - 300 mm)



• Nest-box internal dimensions approx. 10 inches (or 250 mm) square



• Diameter of entrance hole approx. 3 inches (70 - 80 mm)



• Inspection hole: Can be square or round. 100 mm (or approx 4 inches) in diameter.



• A Removable top / lid can be a useful access point for inspections and for cleaning.



• Location and height of log / nest-box: Install in a sheltered part of the aviary at about 5 feet (~1.5 - 1.8 meters) 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: Add about 2 inches of decomposed suitable nest box litter to the bottom of the box to help stabilize the eggs and absorb the droppings from the chicks.
  
  Options for suitable nesting material are decomposed non-toxic saw dust, corn cob, shredded newspaper, clean straw / dried grass or wood shavings (i.e., Aspen shavings or wood chips). The larger wood chips the better, so the parents don't feed it to the babies or the chicks accidentally ingest it.
  
  Please note that some wood shavings - such as pine, cedar and redwood - give off aromatic hydrocarbons (phenols) and acids that are toxic and can cause dermatitis, allergic symptoms and irritation of the digestive tract. They should not be used in cages, aviaries, or nestboxes.



• Incubation: Both hen and cock 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.

Taxonomy:

Genus: Scientific: Aratinga ... English: Conures ... Dutch: Wigstaartparkieten ... German: Keilschwanzsittiche ... French: Aratinga

Species: Scientific: Aratinga erythrogenys aka Psittacara erythrogenys / Conurus rubrolarvatus ... English: Red-masked Conure, Red-headed Conure ... Dutch: Ecuador Aratinga, Roosmasker Aratinga, Roodkop Aratinga ... German: Guayaquilsittich ... French: Perruche à tête d'ecarlate

CITES II - Endangered

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Related Websites: Lexicon of Parrots

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