The Red-fronted Conures (Pyrrhura roseifrons) are known by a variety of names, specifically the Roseifrons Conure, Rose-headed Conure or Red-crowned Parakeet (leading to confusion with the New Zealand Red-crowned Parakeet.
Conure Info / Conures as Pets … Index of Conure Species … Photos of the Different Conure Species for Identification
The Red-fronted Conure (Pyrrhura roseifrons) is known by a variety of names, specifically the Roseifrons Conure, Rose-headed Conure or Red-crowned Parakeet (leading to confusion with the New Zealand Red-crowned Parakeet – Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae). In aviculture, this conure is most commonly referred to as Rose-fronted Conure.
Distribution / Range
The Red-fronted Conure is native to the western Amazon basin in eastern Peru, far south-eastern Ecuador, north-western Bolivia and northwest Brazil, where it occurs in tropical humid lowland forest and adjacent habitats. The Red or Rose-fronted Conures were imported into the U.S. in the 1990s by two consortiums.
These social conures are typically seen in pairs or groups. They feed on various fruits, seeds and flowers; and typically nest in tree cavities.
This conure is fairly common in most of its range and occurs in several protected areas, for example the Manú National Park.
Description
Rose-fronted Conures average 22 cm or 8.5 inches in length, including its long tail. The wing are about 111 – 124 mm (4.4 – 4.9 ins) long.
The plumage is mainly green with a dark red belly, rump and tail tip. The tail is all dark red from below. It has a grey-scaled chest, a whitish or dull yellow patch on the auriculars (feathers covering the ears) and bluish remiges (flight feathers – typically only visible in flight). All races have dark grey legs.
- Red-fronted Conure (Pyrrhura roseifrons roseifrons) – Nominate Species
- The forehead, ocular (eye) region and carpal edge (= leading edge of the wing at the “shoulder”) are red in the nominate race. Its bare eye-ring is typically dark greyish (sometimes indistinct) bordered by yellowish-white.
- Wavy-breasted Parakeet or Wavy-breasted Conure (Pyrrhura roseifrons peruviana)
- Range: Peru
Paler Wavy-breasted Parakeet (Pyrrhura roseifrons dilutissima)
- Both sub-species lack any bright red in their plumage, but most of their crown and ocular (eye) region are very dark brownish-maroon (often appear blackish), while the forecrown is blue.
- Wavy-breasted Parakeet or Wavy-breasted Conure (Pyrrhura roseifrons peruviana)
- The forehead, ocular (eye) region and carpal edge (= leading edge of the wing at the “shoulder”) are red in the nominate race. Its bare eye-ring is typically dark greyish (sometimes indistinct) bordered by yellowish-white.
Personality:
These beautiful little parrots are still very rare, but their pet potential is excellent. They are not as nippy as other conure species, although they tend to be “mouthy.” These conures are active, playful, inquisitive and generally friendly.
Conures as Pets (Suitability, Personality, Pros and Cons, Care Requirements)
Breeding/Reproduction:
These distinctive conures are generally not difficult to breed. The trick is to figure out what they like to nest in. Usually, their preferences were shaped by the shape or type of nest box or log they themselves hatched and were raised in. If this not known, offering a variety of nest boxes / logs makes sense – this way they can choose what they feel comfortable with. Once their choice has been made, the other nest boxes / logs can be taken out, cleaned and used elsewhere. Once a pair has chosen its log or nest-box, the other ones can generally be removed.
Conure Log / Nest-box / Nesting Peferences
Additional Bird Breeder Resources
Taxonomy / Names:
Arndt (2008) recently described another taxon from this complex, dilutissima, as a subspecies of P. peruviana, but under the here used taxonomy, it becomes a subspecies of P. roseifrons.
The red-fronted conure has typically been considered a subspecies of the Painted Conure (P. picta); however, Joseph (2002) discovered that an undescribed population existed in northern Peru (and later another population was found in far south-eastern Ecuador). The peruvian population was described as Pyrrhura peruviana (Hocking, Blake and Joseph, 2002).
It was recommended that P. roseifrons should be considered a monotypic species (= one single species), instead of a subspecies of a Painted Conure (P. picta). Ribas et al. (2006) confirmed by maternal lineage test (mtDNA) that P. roseifrons should be considered a species separate from P. picta – otherwise, the Painted Conure P. picta would be considered paraphyletic (= some, but not all, of the descendants from a common ancestor).
It was decided that the Wavy-breasted Parakeet or Wavy-breasted Conure (P. roseifrons peruviana) was very close to, and therefore better considered a subspecies of, P. roseifrons. Consequently, the American Ornithologists’ Union voted to recognize P. roseifrons as a species with peruviana as a subspecies. However, some resources still list peruviana as a separate species.
Genus: Scientific: Pyrrhura … English: Red-tailed Conures … Dutch: Roodstaartparkieten … German: Rotschwanzsittiche … French: Perruche à queue rouge
Species: Scientific:Pyrrhura roseifrons … English: Rose-headed Conure … Dutch: Rozekopparkiet … German: Rotscheitelsittich … French: Perruche peinte Gray … CITES II – Endangered
Species Research by Sibylle Johnson
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