Blue Crown Conure

The Blue-crown is the conure people come looking for after seeing the film Paulie, and unusually for a bird made famous by a film, the reputation holds up. Blue-crowns are the best talkers in the conure family by a clear margin and they are steadier in temperament than the Aratinga conures they are often shelved beside.

Yes, it is the bird from the film

Several Blue-crowns played the part. The talking in it is not representative of what an average pet bird does, in the way that no trained animal in a film is representative - but the species genuinely is a good talker, and a hand-raised Blue-crown given attention will usually build a real vocabulary in a clear voice.

Still a conure, still loud

Quieter than a Sun or a Nanday, and nowhere near quiet. Blue-crowns have a loud call they use in bursts, particularly at dawn and dusk. Most houses manage; a shared wall is a risk.

Temperament

Generally described as calmer and less frantic than the smaller Aratingas - affectionate, playful without being manic, and more tolerant of being left than many conures. They can be slow to warm to strangers and will often attach to one person more than the rest of a household.

They are bigger than people expect

A Blue-crown is a substantial conure, noticeably larger than a Sun, and it wants a cage sized accordingly. Buyers who shop by the word conure tend to buy too small.

Living with one

Twenty-five to thirty years. A pelleted base with fresh vegetables, a large cage, time out daily, and plenty to chew. They bathe keenly.

Buying one

Ask whether the bird is already talking and how much it is spoken to - with this species it makes a real difference. Ask when it weaned and about disease testing. The breeders listed on this page raise Blue-crown Conures and can be contacted directly through the site.