Intelligence, beauty, and playful antics are the three qualities that make an animal a good pet, and conures seem to have all these qualities in abundance. That explains why the members of this family of parrots are so sought after when it comes to exotic pets. Owing to their docile behavior, amazing socializing skills, and active nature, it is quite easy to tame these birds. Add to it the fact that they learn tricks easily and have the ability to speak a few words, and your experience just gets better. Conure Facts

• Conures are small to medium-sized parrots that are found in lush green forests of Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean Islands.
• In the United States, the term 'conure' is more often restricted to bird keeping, while all the individuals belonging to this species are referred to as parakeets.
• You get to see a great deal of diversity in conure species, especially when it comes to size and color. While the smallest conure is the Painted conure, which seldom grows beyond 9 inches, the largest is the Patagonian conure, which can attain a length of 19 inches at full growth. Common colors in these birds include lush green, brilliant yellow, red, orange, white, etc.
• Almost all the members of these species have a clearly defined eye ring, which is more prominent in females as compared to males.
• In their natural habitat, conures feed on fruits, nuts, berries, grass seeds, buds, grains, and insects.

Conure Care Guide Conures are quite playful in nature, such that they don't just indulge in playful activities with other birds and humans, but also play with other pets in the house. Owing to their colorful appearance, the Sun conure parrot and Jenday conure are highly popular among pet enthusiasts. When getting a pet conure for yourself, you need to make sure that you choose a healthy individual from the pet store. Other than the bright color of its plumage, a healthy bird will be quite active and have sparkling eyes. You should also checks for any signs of pests on its body. Habitat/Housing When choosing a cage to house a conure, you should take the bird's size into consideration. An ideal cage would be the one which has ample space for the bird to move around without any sort of restrictions. You will also have to provide two perches for your pet conure―one for roosting (which should be at some height in the cage) and other for feeding (which should be near the base itself). Alongside a dish for food and a water bowl, you will also have to place a dish for gravel in the cage. A flat utensil filled with water would make ideal bird bath and ensure that your pet is clean. One of the most important aspects of conure care is maintaining good hygiene and therefore, you will have to clean the cage of leftover food and replace the water in it, on a regular basis. Diet Conures are not as active in captivity as they are in the wild and therefore, you need to be careful when it comes to feeding them. You have the option of resorting to a formulated diet, seeds-only diet, or a mixture of both in the form of parrot mixes. While formulated diet will provide the bird with most of the required nutrients, you will have to feed it some fruits and vegetables for required phytonutrients. Similarly, if you are resorting to seeds only diet, you will have to give it additional vitamin and calcium supplements to make sure that it does not face a deficiency of the same. A cuttlebone will make a good calcium-rich dietary supplement for this species. More importantly, the water kept for the bird has to be changed on a regular basis. If required, you can also resort to water soluble vitamins to make sure that your pet gets necessary nutrients. By resorting to these steps, you will be able to make sure that your pet stays healthy throughout. At the same time, conures require regular exercise and something to chew on. While climbing can be a good exercise for them, a wooden perch will be ideal for gnawing. Many people are of the opinion that trimming a bird's wings is a cruel thing to do. They don't realize that it is necessary to ensure that your bird doesn't fly around in the house and get caught into something, or fly out of the window and end up harming itself.