The painted parakeet, known as the painted conure in aviculture, is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Region
Northern South America and eastern Panama
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern Panama through northern Colombia and Venezuela across the Guianas into northern Brazil, with populations in French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana. It occupies humid lowland and foothill evergreen forests, forest edges, and secondary growth. The species also uses gallery forests along rivers and seasonally flooded varzea. It may venture into clearings, savanna-forest mosaics, and fruiting plantations near forest.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 3/5
Also called the painted conure in aviculture, this small parakeet of the New World parrots is widespread across the Guiana Shield and northern Amazonia, reaching eastern Panama. It is highly social, often foraging in chattering flocks and roosting communally. It nests in tree cavities and is an important seed disperser for many fruiting trees. Taxonomy within the complex is nuanced, with several former subspecies treated as separate species by some authorities.
Conurus pictus, from Levaillant's Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique, pl. 16
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
swift, direct flight with rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically found in small to medium flocks that keep close contact with constant chatter. Pairs maintain strong bonds and often forage side by side within the flock. Nests are in natural tree cavities, with both parents participating in incubation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are sharp, high-pitched screeches and rapid chattering given in flight and at roosts. At close range, softer contact calls and grating notes are common within flocks.
Plumage
Mostly green with a scaly-looking breast created by pale buff edging on darker feathers; blue-tinged crown and wing-coverts; maroon belly patch; and reddish tail.
Diet
Primarily consumes a variety of wild fruits and berries, along with seeds, flowers, and buds. It may take nectar and soft pulp from ripe fruits and occasionally nibbles leaf material. Foraging is mostly in the canopy but can extend to mid-levels when trees are fruiting. It sometimes visits agricultural fruit trees near forest edges.
Preferred Environment
Feeds high in the forest canopy and along forest edges where fruiting trees are abundant. Also uses riverine corridors, secondary growth, and forest patches within mosaic landscapes.
