Green cheek Conure - Click to Enlarge
Found primarily in Bolivia, the Green-cheeked Conure (Pyrrhura molinae) is known for its quiet, comical nature. Mostly green in color, with a beautiful maroon tail and blue flight feathers, the green cheek is small – only about 26 cm (around 10″). Their small size makes them ideal pets for people who live in homes where space is limited. But make no mistake, their small body does not mean they have a small personality. Quite the contrary, green cheeks have fun and entertaining personalities.The love to hand upside down in their cages, hide under the papers, swing from their toys, and dance back and forth on their perches trying their best to get your attention.
A green cheek is very happy playing with toys it its cage when you are away, but you better plan on spending lot of time with it when you come home. Once you pick your green cheek up, it is most happy when it can ride you your shoulder, preen your hair and eye lashes, and basically spend time with you at whatever you are doing.
Green cheeks are also fearless. They are not the least bit intimidated by the larger size birds. This can pose some safety issues and, because of that they should never be allowed to be out with larger birds , unless given an undivided attention. Because they don’t have the loud voices of other conures, they make wonderful pets for people who live in apartments or jusn can’t tolerate the loud calls of other birds.
Green cheeks do very well in cages that are 18 by 18 inches square. They do not require the heavy bar spacing of the large parrots. They like little toys with lots of leather, bells and beats. Though not aggressive chewers, it is importantthat they have small pieces of soft wood in their cages at all times.
Green cheeks go through the terrible two’s just like all other birds. They have a tendency to use their beak to test everything from their new toys to your fingers and ears. A gentle “No” and re-derecting them into appropriate play helps to diminish their beaking.
As they mature, the beaking tends to disappear. If properly socialized, these comical birds are great with families. It is important that everyone in the family handle and play with these guys. They do very well with children and other animals.
