Have you ever heard of Pyrrhura rupicola, also known as the black capped conure?
The black capped conure is a mid-sized parrot native to the south-western region of the Amazon Basin and the Andean slopes in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It has moderately sized feathers throughout its body and makes for a considerably cool avian pet.
Although this isn’t a local bird, it’s still a culturally interesting bird with spectacular features. Here are 15 cool facts about the black capped conure.
1) Shy Yet Friendly Birds
When you first approach a black capped conure, they tend to shy away from you because they may see you as a large predator.
However, once you show them that you are not going to eat them, and you provide them with love and care, the black capped conure will become a very loving and interactive bird.
They enjoy companionship, verbal and social interactions, along with learning new information about their new environment and new adopted family.
2) How They Got Their Name
When you hear black capped conure, you may be confused as to why they are called this; but the answer is quite evident if you take a closer look at their body.
At the crown of their head, down to the base of their neck, their head is a darker hue resembling a dark brown, dark gray, or black color.
This feature is specific to this parrot, which is why it has been deemed the black capped conure…because their head is capped with black!
3) Origin
The black capped conure is indigenous to South America, more specifically Bolivia, the southern region of Brazil, as well as Peru.
They enjoy being in the humid forest starting from the lowlands of the Amazon going up to the slopes of the Andes mountains. They can fly and perch on in these landscapes as high as 6,000 feet with no problem!
Unfortunately, the reason as to why they live so high is because their lower forest homes have been disturbed by humans, which is leading them towards extinction.
4) Active Birds
Black capped conures love to be active and must be active for them to live their best life! For this to happen while they are in nature, they can fly around the trees all day to achieve this goal.
If you ever decided to keep one as a pet, they must receive at least 2 hours of cage-free flight and fun with your supervision.
Their jaw muscles are important to develop as well, so having something strong for them to chew on is a must as well to provide them with mental and physical stimulation.
5) Grainivore Diet
Black capped conures have a wide variety of grains in their diet, therefore making them granivores!
In nature, their authentic diet consists of different fruits, vegetables, nuts, and berries that they can find on bushes and in various trees.
In addition to their natural diet, if they are in captivity, with a proper transition, they are capable of eating high-quality, formulated pellets that can be matched with their favorite fruit, vegetables, and seeds.
Because of their size, ⅛ to ¼ cup of food in the morning or at night is an ideal feeding regiment.
6) Hardy Birds
Of the Conure breed, the black capped parrot is one of the sturdiest species because they rarely get sick or experience serious health issues.
When they become ansty or need more attention, they may engage in feather picking as a form of stimulation to cure their own boredom.
However, they are not invulnerable; black capped conures may fall ill to diseases that are known to their kind such as proventricular dilatation disease, psittacine beak and feather disease, bacterial infection, aspergillosis fungal infection, and even beak overbite.
7) Social Creatures
Black capped conures are highly social and interactive creatures and it’s necessary for them to be this way.
Why?
Because in nature, they can live in flocks of up to 40 other birds! Which tells us that these birds enjoy being around others, love to hear sounds and noise in their environment, as well as spending time with their adoptive family.
They are curious animals that will pick and prod at whatever they find interesting to learn more about it, so keep a watchful eye out for them as you let them socialize!
8) Other Color Markings
Including their black capped head, they have the color red going along the front edge of their upper wings. Most of their abdomen area is light to dark green with some birds having some bluish markings.
As we keep descending, their tail feathers can resemble a dark gray color at the end and on its underside.
Now their feet and legs and beak tend to be a blackish-gray color. And in some special cases, these parrots can have yellow shading on their sides of their head and neck.
9) Sex
No, not mating; their gender!
What’s interesting about the genders of the black capped conure is that you can’t tell the difference between the males and the females just by looking at them because they have no special features to define the difference!
The only way to tell whether you’re dealing with a male or female black capped conure is to engage in a sexual surgical procedure which will require a Veterinarian with that particular skill.
Other than that, your guess is as good as any!
10) Not So Vocal Birds
Although black capped conures love to be around sounds, they aren’t very vocal themselves.
They lack the vocal cords necessary to produce specific and clear sounds that we humans and other parrots have. Of course you’ll hear the occasional squeak or squawk, but there won’t be any major vocalization coming from these birds’ beak.
However, there is hope!
With a lot of practice and even more patience, it is possible for a black capped conure to pick up and recite some one-syllable words every now-and-again, but don’t expect a full conversation from these colorful creatures.
11) Mental Health Status
Yes, even birds can engage in mental health issues, and the black capped conure is not excluded from this.
As we said before, black capped conures are social creatures and require lots of attention from their avian counterparts, as well as from you, their caretaker.
If they don’t receive adequate attention to feel loved, they are more than likely to slip into depression. This depression can manifest itself into self-harm and potential death if it is not noticed and rectified quickly with companionship.
12) Long Lifespan
Black capped conures live for a long time compared to other different types of birds. In nature, they can live from 15 to 20 years with other birds in their flock to keep them company.
However, their lifespan actually increases to 20 to 30 years long in captivity because they have on-demand care, food, and water at their disposal.
In addition to having the provisions readily available for their survival, in captivity, they also don’t have to worry about predators poaching or trying to eat them.
13) Size Does Matter
Along with their awesome colors, the size of this bird is a special feature too. To us, they may seem small, but compared to other types of conures, they are slightly bigger than the average.
As an adult, they can reach an average length of 10 inches from their crown to the tip of their tail, making them a medium-sized conure!
This is good for pet owners who may want a parrot that isn’t too big to handle, but is still large enough to manage and hang out with without feeling like they will harm it.
14) Breeding
Now we’re talking about mating! Black capped conures prefer to have monogamous relationships and will mate with the same partner for life. When it comes to breeding, special provisions must be in place for it to be successful.
Black capped conures typically lay between four to seven eggs in one batch. When incubation starts, it takes a short time for the offspring to hatch, usually less than one month, more specifically 23 to 24 days.
15) Do They Make For A Good Pet?
Yes they certainly do! Because of their nice and adjustable personality, loving and caring demeanor, along with their intriguing and curious nature, black capped conures make for a cool and interesting bird to keep as a pet.
Considering that they won’t get sick as much, and they only require your food, water, play time, and your love and affection, black capped conures are continuously becoming a popular choice of bird to keep not only as a pet, but also as a companion.
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