Home | Bird Species Profiles | Introducing the Golden or Queen of Bavaria’s Conure, Guaruba (formerly Aratinga) guaruba

Introducing the Golden or Queen of Bavaria’s Conure, Guaruba (formerly Aratinga) guaruba

The golden conure is a bird that demands attention…indeed, a more strikingly-colored parrot can hardly be imagined.  This, coupled with a playful demeanor and rarity in the wild and captivity, renders it one of the most desirable of all cage birds. 

Description

At 15 inches in length and equipped with a massive head and beak, this giant among conures has the bearing of a much larger bird.  Many observers have commented upon this, comparing it to the smaller macaws, and taxonomists have removed the golden conure from the genus into which other conures are classified. 

The body and tail are golden-yellow, and the primary wing feathers are rich emerald green.

Range and Conservation Status

The golden conure is limited in distribution to upland forests in northeastern Brazil, an area that has seen much environmental degradation in recent decades.  It shares its habitat with over 300 bird species, including the harpy eagle and 22 other parrots.  Unfortunately, gold mining, logging and the massive Tucurui Dam have resulted in the flooding or development of millions of acres of primary forest, and place the golden conure and other species at risk.

The golden conure is CITES Appendix I listed and protected by the US Endangered Species Act, but environmental threats have proven difficult to curtail.  Fortunately, it is reasonably well-established in captivity.  Although not common and usually quite expensive, golden conure breeding is well-worth considering if you are interested in both pet-keeping and conservation.  A US Fish and Wildlife Service permit is required…please write in for further details if you are considering keeping golden conures.

Golden Conures as Pets

Golden conures are extremely social as regards both people and other conures.  They are curious and very playful, and make wonderful, long-lived (to 40 years or more) pets.  Despite looking like feathered jewels, they are quite hardy and robust, and tame individuals enjoy nothing more than a good “wrestling match” with their owner’s hand.

In common with many related birds, their voices are quite piercing…please bear that in mind and do not be swept away by their gorgeous colors when deciding if these (or other parrots) are the pets for you.

Breeding in Nature and Captivity

Field reports indicate that golden conures breed colonially, with females sharing feeding responsibilities.  While this is so, later observations revealed that breeding groups were composed largely or entirely of related birds.  Therefore, unrelated captives may not co-exist at breeding time.

Golden conure chicks have a tendency to gnaw at one another’s tail feathers…other than that captive reproduction is fairly straightforward.

Golden conure care basically follows that of related species…please write in if you have questions or would like further details.

You can read about golden conures in the wild, and a project that is seeking to preserve their habitat, at:

http://goldenconure.org/

2 comments

  1. avatar

    Wow! I’m realy excited about that. I never seen it before. I only kwe something about the normal conures and a litlle bit of a few cockatoos.
    I will ad it to my website
    http://www.avescenter.com

  2. avatar

    Hello,

    Frank Indiviglio here, thanks very much for your interest in our blog.

    Golden conures are rare in captivity, but well worth searching for as photos hardly do them justice at all. San Diego Zoo had a pair when I last visited; I believe the Minnesota Zoo and Disney may exhibit them as well. An in depth article on field research and natural behavior has been published in PsittaScene Magazine.

    Enjoy, best regards, Frank Indiviglio

About Frank Indiviglio

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I believe that I was born with an intense interest in animals, as neither I nor any of my family can recall a time when I was not fascinated by creatures large and small. One might imagine this to be an unfortunate set of circumstances for a person born and raised in the Bronx, but, in actuality, quite the opposite was true. Most importantly, my family encouraged both my interest and the extensive menagerie that sprung from it. My mother and grandmother somehow found ways to cope with the skunks, flying squirrels, octopus, caimans and countless other odd creatures that routinely arrived un-announced at our front door. Assisting in hand-feeding hatchling praying mantises and in eradicating hoards of mosquitoes (I once thought I had discovered “fresh-water brine shrimp” and stocked my tanks with thousands of mosquito larvae!) became second nature to them. My mother went on to become a serious naturalist, and has helped thousands learn about wildlife in her 16 years as a volunteer at the Bronx Zoo. My grandfather actively conspired in my zoo-buildings efforts, regularly appearing with chipmunks, boa constrictors, turtles rescued from the Fulton Fish Market and, especially, unusual marine creatures. It was his passion for seahorses that led me to write a book about them years later. Thank you very much, for a complete biography of my experience click here.
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