When our Animal of the Month for September started, our clinic bird Goli was so excited! And now, he is equally as disappointed that our time with green-cheeked conures is ending. We also hope that you enjoyed following our posts about these charming birds as much as Goli did. And if you happened to miss any of our posts on “X” (a.k.a. Twitter) and Threads, you can find a summary right here on our blog. Did you know?:

• Green-cheeked conures (Pyrrhura molinae) are small birds endemic to a fairly large range in central South America.
• In the wild, green-cheeked conures can be found in northwestern Argentina, parts of Bolivia, Paraguay and western Brazil.
• Green-cheeked conures are also commonly known as green-cheeked parakeets.
• Green-cheeked conures were first described by German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1824 following a trip to Brazil.
• As for the green-cheeked conure’s scientific name, the genus “Pyrrhura” is Greek for “fiery tail” (πῦρ = fire, ουρά = tail).
• The species name “molinae” is derived from the last name of Juan Ignacio Molina, who was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist and the green-cheeked conure’s namesake.
• In English, the green-cheeked conure was once known as Molina’s conure. This species is still known today as “Conure de Molina” in French, “Cotorra de Molina” in Spanish and “Molinasittich” in German.
• In the wild, green-cheeked conures inhabit dense forests and woodlands. They spend most of their lives in the tops of tall trees.
• Green-cheeked conures are small parrots, with fully grown adults measuring about 10 inches (25.4 cm) in length.
• Should it come as any surprise that green-cheeked conures have green cheeks? In addition to their cheek feathers, they have mostly green plumage on their bodies.
• Green-cheeked conures have dark grey-brown or black feathers on the tops of their heads, along with beaks that are also dark grey. They have thick, bare white rings around their dark brown eyes.
• On their necks, green-cheeked conures have lighter grey feathers, Their chests have olive green or muted yellowish feathers that surround a patch of red feathers on their bellies.
• Green-cheeked conures sport brighter green and blue feathers on their wings. They have long, pointed and mostly maroon-coloured tails that are occasionally marked with blue feathers. Their feet are grey.
• Selective breeding of captive green-cheeked conures has created different colour morphs; including pineapple, cinnamon, yellow-sided and turquoise.
• September 17th is National Pet Bird Day so there’s no better day than this day to post about green-cheeked conures’ popularity as pets!
• Playful, silly, affectionate and inquisitive – green-cheeked conures can be described as good-natured little clowns, who can deeply bond with their human family. But they can also be sassy and may bite if they don’t get their way.
• Compared to other conure species, green-cheeked conures are not as loud. But they will chirp and call, so they may not be appropriate family members for people who are sensitive to noise.
• Unlike some other bird species kept in captivity, green-cheeked conures are not known for their talking abilities. But some do have the ability to mimic human speech.
• Green-cheeked conures are not only active, but they are also very intelligent and can be taught tricks.
• In the wild, green-cheeked conures eat a wide variety of flowers, fruits, seeds from dry fruits, nuts, nectar, berries and the occasional insect.
• A 2007 study of green-cheeked conures published in the Brazilian Journal of Biology further explored their foraging habits in the dry forests of western Brazil specifically.
• Researchers found that the green-cheeked conures in western Brazil have a flexible diet and make full use of the variety of tree species available depending on the habitats in which they lived.
• For the green-cheeked conures living in semi-deciduous forests, researchers observed them eating fruits, flowers, seeds, aril (fleshy seed coverings) from 16 different tree species.
• In contrast, figs from the tree species Ficus calyptroceras made up approximately 70% of the diet of the green-cheeked conures who were living in mostly deciduous forests.
• Ficus calyptroceras are endemic and plentiful in western Brazil. These trees also bear fruit year-round and researchers found green-cheek conures made the most of them as a food source, which helps them survive prolonged dry seasons.
• Predators of green-cheeked conures include birds of prey, such as the ornate hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus). The false vampire bat (a.k.a. the spectral bat) (Vampyrum spectrum) is also a known predator.
• The colours in their plumage provide effective camouflage for green-cheeked conures to hide from their predators in the high tree tops.
• It’s believed that “safety in numbers” is the green-cheeked conures’ most effective strategy in evading predators. They are social birds and will live together in small flocks of between 10-20 birds.
• When green-cheeked conures are together in flocks, not only can they warn others of an impending threat and quickly disperse, but predators can also become confused by the number of birds.
• Green-cheeked conures also nest high up in tree trunk hollows with openings that are usually too small and inaccessible for their predators.
• Human threats consist mostly of habitat destruction. While the wild green-cheeked conure population is decreasing, they’re considered a species of “least concern” by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as they are commonly found in their natural range.
• One could argue that green-cheeked conures also celebrate Valentine’s Day given that February is their breeding season throughout their natural range.
• Green-cheeked conures are monogamous. Female green-cheeked conures will gestate for a few days after mating with her partner. They will lay 4-6 eggs in their nest, which they make in tree hollows.
• It takes about 22-25 days for the eggs to hatch. The green-cheeked conure hatchlings will become independent at approximately 6 weeks of age. But they won’t become fully sexually mature until between 1-3 years of age.
• Green-cheeked conures can live up to 25-30 years both in the wild and with proper care in captivity.

This is the second time that we have featured our clinic bird Goli…er, we mean, green-cheeked conures as our Animal of the Month. Come on over to our blog post from July 2014 to see what we posted the first time around!