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Austral Conure

 (Enicognathus ferrugineus)

Also known as: Austral Parakeet, Emerald Parakeet

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Wild Austral Conures
© Eleanor Briccetti | [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr

Did You Know?

Flocks of Austral Conures are known to mob Red-backed Hawks in Tierra del Fuego.

Academic Research

Related publications: Enicognathus ferrugineus

Species Profile

Genus: Enicognathus | Species: ferrugineus

Size:

33cm (12.8 in)

Weight:

160g (5.6 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

two: E.f. ferrugineus, E.f. minor

Colour Adult:

E.f. ferrugineus: Both adults dull green in colour with soft black/grey barring; red/brown forehead and lores; red/brown patch in centre of abdomen; brown/red tail. Dark grey bill. Eye ring grey. Eye red/brown.
E.f. minor: Both adults darker green; abdominal patch darker brown/red and less extensive, sometimes absent; smaller in size.

Colour Juvenile:

As in adults but with duller reddish markings on forehead and abdomen. In the first two months young have white ring around eyes, becoming darker as they get older.

Call:

Calls made in flight shrill; when alarmed are more strident, urgent; also some notes harsher and more grating. Some melodious cries made as well.  Young make a very distinctive sound from that of adults, as well as begging sounds for food.

Listen Now

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
ML Media Collection Catalogue 164274, Austral Parakeet, (Enicognathus ferrugineus), Lammertink, Martjan, Rio Negro, Argentina, Sep. 18, 2009, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Site
Soledad Diaz, pers. comm.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006. 2010 edition
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Austral Conures
© Eleanor Briccetti | [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr

Did You Know?

Flocks of Austral Conures are known to mob Red-backed Hawks in Tierra del Fuego.

Academic Research

Related publications: Enicognathus ferrugineus

Species Care

Captive Status:

Nominate race is very rare in captivity; E.f. minor less so.

Longevity:

15-25 yrs

Housing:

Aviary or suspended enclosure, minimum length 3m (9.8 ft).

Diet:

Fruit such as: apple, pear, orange, banana, pomegranates, cactus fruits, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green beans and peas in the pod; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; spray millet; small seed mix such as: canary, millet, and smaller amounts of oats, buckwheat, safflower and a little hemp; soaked and sprouted sunflower seeds; cooked beans and pulses; boiled maize, and complete kibble.

Enrichment:

Provide overhead misters or water bowls for bathing. Provide bird-safe, unsprayed flowering or budding branches, perches, wooden toys, vegetable tanned leather toys, puzzle/foraging toys, heat sterlized pine cones, and ladders, swings, ropes.

Nest Box Size:

Diagonal nest box 18" x 8" x 12" (46cm x 20.3cm x 30.5cm)

Clutch Size:

5-6

Incubation Time:

26 days

Fledging Age:

53-63 days

Hatch Weight:

Not recorded.

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

Not recorded.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Austral Conures
© Eleanor Briccetti | [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr

Did You Know?

Flocks of Austral Conures are known to mob Red-backed Hawks in Tierra del Fuego.

Academic Research

Related publications: Enicognathus ferrugineus

Species Wild Status

World Population:

Unknown, stable.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

Common throughout range.

Range:

E.f. ferrugineus: S Chile, in Aisén and Magallanes, and S Argentina, from southwestern Chubut south to Tierra del Fuego.
E.f. minor: C and S Chile, from O'Higgins south to Aisén and eastern slopes of Andes to SW Argentina, from Neuquén south to western Chubut.

Habitat:

Found up to 2000m mostly in wooded country; also in more open habitat and cultivated areas. Occurs in sea level in southern part of range.

Wild Diet:

Takes grass and seeds of Araucaria araucana, bamboo, acorns, leaf buds of Nothofagus and poplars, fruits, berries and bulbous roots. Reported feeding on insect larvae.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Seen in flocks of 10-15 individuals but larger (up to 100) groups also seen. Nests in tree cavity, scratching sides for thin bits of wood to line nest. May also add loose feathers when they find them, but will not pluck their own.

Clutch and Egg Size:

5-6 rounded eggs, with a maximum of 11. Size 31.0 x 25.0mm.

Breeding Season:

December. Nest is in hollow in tree, commonly a large dead oak; has been seen making own nest of twigs or grass stems in Chusquea.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Austral Conures
© Eleanor Briccetti | [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr

Did You Know?

Flocks of Austral Conures are known to mob Red-backed Hawks in Tierra del Fuego.

Academic Research

Related publications: Enicognathus ferrugineus

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