Green-cheeked Parakeet

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iGreen-cheeked Conure

1888 painting by Philip Lutley Sclater

A green-cheeked conure family

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittacidae
Genus:	Pyrrhura
Species:	P. molinae

Binomial name

Pyrrhura molinae
Massena & Souance, 1854

The Green-cheeked Conure or Green-cheeked Parakeet is a small parrot of the genus Pyrrhura. It is primarily green, with a grey breast, dark head, maroon tail and blue flight feathers. Its normal weight is about 70 g; its average length (including tail) is 25 cm (10 inches).

It occurs in west-central and southern Mato Grosso, Brazil, through northern and eastern Bolivia to northwestern Argentina. Its habitat is forests, where it forms big flocks at treetop level. It eats various seeds and fruits and probably other kinds of vegetable matter.

Green-cheeked conures are common pets. They are playful, affectionate and intelligent, known as having a "big personality in a small body". They can learn to talk, albeit with a limited vocabulary and a gravelly voice. They like to be held (although some like it more than others) and can learn tricks such as lying on their backs and "kissing." Along with other Pyrrhura conures, they are only moderately loud, therefore making acceptable pets for apartment dwellers. They can be prone to biting, particularly when young, but an owner can cure this behavior with patience and time. They love fruits, (especially bananas and raisins), and seeds such as sunflower, safflower and hemp seeds; all things found in their natural environments. However, it is advised not to feed them oil seeds such as sunflower because they are addictive and do not contain the proper nutrition. A bird-pellet diet with a calcium supplement will give them the proper nutrition, but should not be used exclusively due to the presence of trace chemical additives and bonding agents not found in the conure's natural habitat. Some conures with health problems related to the kidneys^{[citation needed]} should not be fed pellets. Greencheeks are very similar to the Maroon-bellied Parakeet or Conure (P. frontalis), and can live to 35–40 years.

The average clutch is 4–6 eggs. Average incubation is 24 days, varying from 22 to 25 days.

The binomial commemorates Juan Ignacio Molina.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Pyrrhura molinae. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern