Queen of Bavaria Conure

Golden Conure ~ Golden Parakeet
Family: Psittacidae
Scientific Name: Aratinga guarouba, (recently renamed to:Guaruba guarouba)

Distribution:
The Queen of Bavaria Conure or Golden Conure is found in a remote area of northeastern Brazil. They have long been known to naturalists. A Dr. Greene is said to have described this bird as the Golden Parrot in a writing in 1887, and he advises that there was a specimen in the London Zoo since 1871. They were first bred in Sri Lanka in 1939, and in the United States in 1945.
Due to the destruction of thousands of acres of jungle, their native habitat has been drastically reduced. Today they are extremely rare and are protected. Even in captivity there are limited numbers and their status is very fragile. Keeping them in captive breeding programs has taken precedence hopefully with the aim of precluding any further need to collect them from the wild.

Description:
The Queen of Bavaria Conure or Golden Conure, a small member of the parrot family, is considered the most beautiful of the conures. They are a brilliant golden yellow with only the lower portion of the wings being green. They rather resemble a small macaw with a beak and head that is quite large, though they have a relatively short tail. The eye is brown surrounded by a naked white eye ring. The beak is a pale horn color and the legs are a light pink.
The young have green feathers in the plumage and the yellow is duller. They are fully feathered by 18 months of age.

Size - Weight:
The Queen of Bavaria Conure or Golden Conure will reach up to 14 inches (35.5 cm) and weigh 8.8 ozs (249 g).

Care and feeding:
A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch. They eat a variety of sprouts, seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat.
See About Conures: Housing and About Conures: Care and Feeding for more information.

Social Behaviors:
In the wild they were at one time seen in pairs or small groups of up to about 60 birds, though today fewer birds are seen. They love to play, especially climbing and chewing. They can also be rather noisy.

Breeding/Reproduction:
They breed readily in captivity and are not overly fussy about their nest, though they get quite aggressive to their keeper while breeding. If they lose their mate they are unlikely to pair with another.
The female lays 3 to 4 eggs which are incubated for about 25 days. The young fledge (leave the nest) after about 10 weeks though the parents continue to feed them for some time after that.