Species of the Day: Azuero Conure

Scientific Name: Pyrrhura eisenmanni
Adult Size: Just over 8 1/2 inches long; 54 to 70 grams
Adult Coloration: Both adults mostly green; black/brown forehead and crown to nape; frontal band to lores and around the eyes thin and red; buff/white ear coverts; faint blue nuchal collar; darker brown upper breast scalloped with white; dark green/blue lower breast scalloped with buff/white and yellow; green wing bends; black bill; bare, gray/brown eye ring; eyes are brown/yellow.
Call: Calls made in flight are short; some single loud notes from birds contacting the flock; while perched, harsh guttural notes; soft notes while preening

   Like its cousin the Painted Conure, this is an active, shy and nervous parrot; new birds are easily stressed and quite susceptible to disease. However, once acclimated, they lose all their shyness and can become friendly, playful and sweet-natured pets. Azuero Conures are particularly smart, and can learn simple tricks with the greatest of ease.

Captive Status: Almost unknown in captivity.
Average Life-Span: About 12 to 15 years
Housing: Large cage or aviary no less than 6 1/2 feet long
Diet: Fruits such as apples, pear, papaya, bananas, oranges, pomegranates, and kiwis; vegetables such as carrot, celery, green beans and peas in the pod, and fresh corn; leafy greens such as Swiss chard, kale, dandelion greens, sowthistle, Romaine lettuce and chickweed; seed mixes such as spray millet, millet, canary seed and smaller amounts of oats, buckwheat, safflower and small amounts of hemp; supplement with soaked or sprouted sunflower seeds, cooked beans and pulses, boiled maize, limited cubed hard cheeses and complete pellets.
Enrichment: Enjoys chewing. Provide untreated flowering tree branches such as fir, pine, willow and elder branches, wooden or vegetable-tanned leather toys, foraging/puzzle toys, ladders, swings, a variety of perches and ropes. Also provide small water bowls and overhead misters for bathing.

World Population: Less than 2,000 left in the wild
Threat Summary: Habitat destruction.
Range: Southwest Azuero Peninsula and Central Panama
Habitat: Found up to 5,445 feet in elevation in humid, hilly forested areas, forest margins and sometimes nearby partly cleared areas
Wild Diet: Feeds on fruits, flowers, seeds algae and invertebrates.
Ecology: Flocks usually stay in one area, may move depending on the availability of food. Usually seen in pairs or small groups, sometimes seen in flocks of up to 20 individuals. Stays up in the forest canopy where it is camouflaged amongst the foliage. Noisy and visible in flight.