SUN CONURE

Conures are a diverse, loosely defined group of small to medium-sized parrots.
They belong to several genera within a long-tailed group of the
New World parrot subfamily Arinae. The term "conure" is used primarily in bird keeping,
though it has appeared in some scientific journals.

The American Ornithologists' Union uses the generic term parakeet for all species
elsewhere called conure, though Joseph Forshaw, a prominent
Australian ornithologist, uses conure.

Conures are either large parakeets or small parrots found in the Western Hemisphere.
They are analogous in size and way of life to the Old World's rose-ringed
parakeets or the Australian parakeets. All living conure species live
in Central and South America. The extinct Conuropsis carolinensis, or Carolina parakeet
was an exception. Conures are often called the clowns of the parrot world due
to their constant attention seeking behavior including hanging upside-down
and swaying back and forth or "dancing."

Despite being large for parakeets, conures are lightly built with long tails
and small (but strong) beaks. Conure beaks always have a small cere and
are usually horn-colored (gray) or black. Most conure species live in flocks of
20 or more birds. Conures often eat grain, and so are treated as agricultural pests in some places.
Conures are as diverse a group as African parrots, so trying
to characterize them all is difficult and inaccurate.

The category conure is loosely defined because they do not currently constitute a natural,
scientific grouping. The term conure is now used mostly in aviculture.
Scientists tend to refer to these birds as "parrots" or "parakeets".
(See below under Scientific classification for more details.)