Sun Conures (Aratinga solstitialis)
Conservation Status:
Common in US aviculture, but upgraded to endangered status in 2008 in the wild.
Endangered Species List - Sun ConureEstimated Wild Population
Wild caught parrots have not been legally imported into the United States since 1992. So, don't feel bad about getting a sun conure! Cherish your little baby for the special creature it is. US captive breeding does not negatively impact the wild population. I feel privileged to be breeding the endangered sun conure.
Thoughts on Sun Conures (Aratinga solstitialis) - go see my page on Jenday Conures.
I've never really cared much for the suns only because I'm not as thrilled by the mostly yellow coloration. I'm thinking they're very similar to the Jendays as pets. I'll get back to you on this one - My daughter kept a little sun for her birthday last year. Scroll down to read an ongoing diary about Ducky.
Noise wise, I don't notice a difference in frequency or tonal quality. But my daughter says she notices the tonal quality of the suns is different than the jendays. To her the suns are less "screechy" and easier on the ears. ** Don't think about getting a sun over a jenday because you've read they're "quieter". Any degree of "quieter" is negligible. It's like the difference between a Mac truck and a Peterbilt truck - one technically might be quieter than the other, but they're both huge rumbley vehicles.
Sonny and Cher
Parents of my first sun babies
My First Clutch of Sun Conures
L-R: Drake Lawrence and Joey
Minion! I'm keeping Minion to be a future breeder.
Two Days Old:
Three Weeks Old:
Four Weeks Old:
Five Weeks Old:
Six Weeks Old:
Seven Weeks Old:
Eight Weeks Old:
Nine Weeks Old:
My Daughter Kept One from My First Clutch of Babies:
Drake Laurence
Babies may take up to two years to reach adult coloration.
But you can call him Ducky
He is SO cute.
The Adventures of Drake (Ducky) Lawrence-hatched 9/17/2010
Jan. 2011 - As of this writing, Drake "Ducky" Lawrence is 4 months old. He's an absolute doll just like my prior Jenday. He goes to everyone including strangers. He treats family members like trees and hops from person to person as the mood strikes him. He's a bit more hyper than I recall my jenday being; could just be that he's young. He's very gentle - sometimes he misses when jumping on me and ends up grabbing my ear, nose, or lip; can't say those sensitive parts don't hurt, but he doesn't draw blood or leave any marks on me. I find his Tarzan routine funny and entertaining so I don't stop him; however, he's more careful with my husband and daughter as they make it known to him they don't like it when he misses. Ducky is smart, like most conures, so he can learn to interact differently with different people.
Feb. 2011 - I've had tons of jenday babies and do notice a difference in energy level among babies. Since I never kept one before, I wasn't sure if they stayed that way. But Ducky is pretty much the same energy level as he was as a baby. Ducky is definitely a hyper spazbot. We've been taking him to Farmers Markets when we go volunteering with a local cat shelter - Friends of Cats. He seems to enjoy the buzz. He still lets everyone handle him. Last week he sat on the donation bucket and was learning the "put the dollar in the bucket" trick. It took him about ten minutes to learn to take the dollar and drop it in the bucket. I discovered why the trick only lasts 10-15 minutes in bird shows - short attention span. We tried to get Ducky to do it for hours. Nope. He could do it for about 10 minutes every hour or so.
Mar. 2011 - Guest Columnist Mystery of Mysterious Orange:
Ducky is a doll. Absolutely lovely little monkey spazbot. Except at night. As soon as it’s dark, if I’m not asleep or at least have the light off and am being very quiet, Ducky starts grumbling at me. It takes me a while of being a noisy teenager for him to actually start yelling at me. In the mornings he makes me get up by jumping off his cage so I have to pick him up. The little monster!
The little monster is molting right now. He'll look pretty once his full coloration comes in, but for now he looks a little odd. His back is no longer solid green; it's now speckled with yellow feathers here and there. The yellow feathers coming in on his chest are in a group and make him look as if he's only got one patch of clean feathers. He's definitely not dirty, because he demands to take a bath in the bathroom sink nearly every day.
Ducky likes sushi. When we go out for sushi and bring him along he attacks my tuna maki as though he’s starving. He won’t touch most other foods; if we stick chicken or hashbrowns or something else in front of his beak he flicks his head and acts like we’re trying to poison him. (patdbunny comment - Ducky's aversion to new foods is much to my chagrin. He was raised better than that! I've never had a parrot I've raised from a chick be as picky as he is. Luckily, he does like pellets and his daily fresh mash. Just - What parrot doesn't mug you for table foods?!)
April 2011- Guest Columnist Mystery of Mysterious Orange:
Ducky has an older brother. Well, I consider them siblings. Ducky’s “brother” is Sam, a cinnamon/pied cockatiel. They act completely like brothers… Not always in good ways. Sure, they have their civil moments where they’ll be peacefully preening each other, but other times Ducky is the mischievous little brother. For example: Sam is sitting on top of their cage, on the edge of course, and Ducky inches a little closer… closer… closer…! and then he gives Sam a shove. Sam goes flying off the cage as troublemaking little brother Ducky watches. They remind me of a couple human brothers; the older brother standing on the edge of a pool, looking in, younger brother sneaks up and shoves him in. (“I’m gonna get you when mom’s not looking, Todd!”)
Ducky enjoys baths. If we go anywhere near the bathroom or he hears running water he'll fluff up and start looking around to find the sink. He has even jumped onto me from his cage (grumbling at me if I tried to pet him) so that I would bring him to the bathroom sink. But he hates showers. I was so disappointed, because my mom said her jenday conure loved to shower with her, and Ducky doesn't. I'll set him on the soap rack thing and he'll just sit on the corner sulkily until I turn the water off. Even if he's on my finger he'll go as far away from the splashing as possible.
sunday conor conur concur tame parrot parot talk talking screech scream connure connur conore connore trick train training handfed hand-fed handfeed hand-feed handfeeding
Indeed, the screaming difference is... not much.
ReplyDeleteBoth types of conure are so cute/sweet though!
~Mystery~