Blue Crown Conures?

Roz, do you have any experience with these guys?

I know I am not Roz, but my friend at the bird store just got a breeding pair. She said they are loud, loud, loud and she has five cockatoos! She said she was shocked at how loud they could be. Not implying they are louder then the toos, btw. She also said they sing, talk, and often answer questions in context.

GlassOnion wrote:

Roz, do you have any experience with these guys?

Nope. Go watch the movie "Paulie"?

Julsiebean wrote:

She said they are loud, loud, loud and she has five cockatoos! She said she was shocked at how loud they could be. Not implying they are louder then the toos, btw. She also said they sing, talk, and often answer questions in context.

That's what I've heard. Since speaking ability's not important to me, they're not appealing to me with the rumoured noise they make. I'm sure it's controllable screaming like in the suns and jendays, but I'm not interested.

If I'm going to get large(r) conures I'd get the golden conures or patagonians. Primarily because their looks interest me more.

I have Watched Paulie.
That's funny about the screaming, because some people claim they are quieter than the Sunnies.. But I really do think 'LOUD' is subjective, as I don't mind a Sun's scream two inches from my face- i dont think theyre that loud in all honesty- but the GCC is annoying and the Meyer's makes me shiver.

I was drawn to them because apparently they are one of the mellow Conures(?) and the talking ability does attract me since my two only speak Cocktiel.

GlassOnion wrote:

I have Watched Paulie.
That's funny about the screaming, because some people claim they are quieter than the Sunnies.. But I really do think 'LOUD' is subjective, as I don't mind a Sun's scream two inches from my face- i dont think theyre that loud in all honesty- but the GCC is annoying and the Meyer's makes me shiver.

I was drawn to them because apparently they are one of the mellow Conures(?) and the talking ability does attract me since my two only speak Cocktiel.

I don't think any of the conures should scream excessively. Behaviorally managed, they shouldn't scream excessively. As for "louder" or not "louder" than a sun, you'd have to go stand in front of a mature blue crown and see what the scream sounds like to you.

Don't know what "mellow" means. Again, that's a subjective descriptive. My prior jenday was, in my opinion, super mellow and easy going. Ducky is ADHD compared to her. So there is variance among individuals of a species. Like picking a puppy/dog, pick an individual with the energy level you want - there are jack russell's that aren't hyper, there are bulldogs that are.

Talking - keep in mind, even if they're known for being good talkers they may never talk or talk in a very limited manner. IRNs are known for being excellent talkers. Xavier is about 5 years old. He only says, "Hi". That's it.

Glass Onion I think is looking for a quiet bird that isn't likely to talk. Of course, she'll wind up with the one non-talking species that turns out to be Paulie... Murphy always gets a say.

Anita, it seems like even the "quietest" species tend to bother you. Is it a matter of pitch or are you really that noise averse? I have to admit that I would have thought I would be that noise averse, but it turns out I can pretty much tolerate our guys even when they are being loud, which isn't really that often. I don't feel that they "should" be quieter the way I do with TV or radio that's too loud. I'm curious why you are searching so hard for a larger species that is quiet -- there's nothing wrong with budgies and 'tiels, and they seem to be species you are comfortable with noise-wise.

No, I am looking for an animated, cuddly bird with an ability to talk in context, who will enjoy somewhat intense outdoor acitivities.

I don't know why, but I really don't like the Meyer's squeal. If you've ever heard it, it sounds like a metal fork quickly running down a chalkboard imo. I really think it has to do with pitch, and *I* consider Aratingas to have a fairly low pitch compared to many other birds I've heard. After much interaction, I decided I didn't like green cheeks. Too scrappy and annoying compared to other species.

I have to say the Cape is still high up on my list.. but I haven't met one so..

Ah. For some reason I remembered you saying speaking ability was annoying... I may have parked my brain in the wrong lot this morning.

Scotty is active, smart, talky and quite affectionate with me. His speech in context is limited but improving -- he learned a lot of his vocabulary from other birds in a store setting. I wouldn't say he was an easy bird, he may be a bit too smart for that! He does have a couple of calls that might not float your boat -- his native call seems to be a sort of peeping-beeping noise moderately loud, almost one-note, sort of like blasting on an alarm whistle. He also has an "Arrrrrk!" call that I'm not sure if it's inherent or learned from another species. But on average he's pretty quiet for a medium sized bird.

I've been toying with getting a sound-activated digital recorder to just have in the bird room to record sounds since I'm never quick enough with a camera to get what I'm after. I can try and get some "footage" of Scotty making noise if you like.

It sounds to me like you're looking for the Golden Retriever of the bird kingdom, am I right? A bird that can go out and play hard then come home and then be happy to "lay at your feet" (so to speak) while you kick back and watch a movie in the evening.

I'm trying to get a good picture of what it is you're looking for... so am I on the right track?

ScooterNScotty wrote:

Ah. For some reason I remembered you saying speaking ability was annoying... I may have parked my brain in the wrong lot this morning.

I can try and get some "footage" of Scotty making noise if you like.

That was my fiance who said talking birds were annoying, but being a woman, I'll get my way.

Capes really seem 'ideal'. Does Scotty have that typical reserved Poi attitude?

VickiNumbers wrote:

It sounds to me like you're looking for the Golden Retriever of the bird kingdom, am I right? A bird that can go out and play hard then come home and then be happy to "lay at your feet" (so to speak) while you kick back and watch a movie in the evening.

I'm trying to get a good picture of what it is you're looking for... so am I on the right track?

Errr, I LOVE dogs but Golden Retrievers are my least favourite... They seem dumb(?) and mindless fetchers to me? I don't see a spark in their attitude.

But from your description, that sounds about right, though I would like some sneaky cleverness and ingenuity added to it.

^Sounds like my GCC, bar talking in context (yet!) But if a GCC annoys you, I don't know how you could handle anything else.


I think you rely too much on hearsay. It is one thing to look for info, but in a lot of threads on both forms I see you handing down facts and opinions you have read somewhere and seem to have taken to heart as the only truth. I had a cockatiel again, bar talking in context, that fit that description but I also had a cockatiel who was a birdy being.

At this point, I think you should meet lots of birds and not rule anything out and just be open to being picked.

Well, anecdotes are quite important in parrot ownership. That's how we share most of our knowledge right?

I definitely agree that individuals have personalities that don't quite resemble others of the same species. You have good point, I really do try to meet and interact with as many birds as I can, but where I live, very few stores carry only a small number of species.

GlassOnion wrote:

Well, anecdotes are quite important in parrot ownership. That's how we share most of our knowledge right?

It is true that we are often limited to that because of the lack of study, but it's a dangerous way to get information. For one thing, we are all very biased observers and will tend to see -- and remember -- and relate -- what we want to believe. In addition "The plural of anecdote is not proof". I actually agree with Juliesbean, seek out individuals.

ScooterNScotty wrote:

seek out individuals.

I would love to! But as I mentioned, it is very difficult for me to meet different parrots due to locational circumstances.

GlassOnion wrote:

I would love to! But as I mentioned, it is very difficult for me to meet different parrots due to locational circumstances.

I understand that, but it seems to me that your best bet is to make the most of whatever you do have access to. Could you maybe travel to a bird fair or similar trade show?

I would have to go to the States or across the country to Montreal, to visit some decent bird stores. It could happen in the future!

Is there a parrot club somewhere near? A rescue?

I seems to me that you may be better off shopping around the limited birds you can find since you have very specific ideas about what will and won't work for you. Even if a bird's natural vocalizations don't bother you, who knows what it will learn to imitate? A quiet environment may limit that but I guess I'm understanding where the vet who vetted my first horse was coming from when he said, "Look, if you want a sure thing -- don't buy a horse!". When you choose a baby bird based on species characteristics it's a bit like Heisenberg's cat -- you have a statistical idea that what's in the box is likely to have certain characteristics, but you don't really know what the individual is like until you've opened the box. If it is VERY important to you that specific characteristics are present, you are more likely to find them in a specific individual than in a species. MHO.

^So much word. I spent 3 hours with Juniper before bringing her home. A few days later I thought there was a cockatiel loose in my house, it was Juniper! She sings, warbles, calls, and cheeps like a cockatiel FAR MORE then any Quaker noises. Her Quaker stuff is when she is excited, scared, or tattling on my toddler. Her every day I feel like making my brain rattle noise is cockatiel. At dinner she busted out in lovebird-ese. We were all like...what???

Sometimes it just takes time. It took me five years to decide for sure I wanted an African grey. After five years of research, talking to people who owned them, talking to people who breed them, meeting as many individuals as I could - I decided I could live with all the negatives I had heard and seen about them. I guess I approached it backwards - I knew what I liked about them, I wanted to know all the ugliness and negatives. Knowing the worst case scenario, for me, allowed me to be able to commit.

Roz, do you think you'll ever acquire another Grey?

Nope. I'm no longer a pet keeper. My enjoyment in birds now comes from the challenges of breeding them and raising well adjusted babies to be good pets for others. I no longer have the emotional energy for "needier" birds of my own. I LOVE my IRN because he's very sweet and low emotional maintenance. I handle him and give him kisses and he's happy to hang out while I go about my business.

I can see how you feel, it must be very rewarding. There are a lot of people out there who discourage breeding due to the abundance of neglected/rescued birds out there.. I'm curious, how do you see this from a breeder's standpoint? Do you ever feel bad or anything? I'm actually just curious, not trying to attack you or anything, as I do think it is important that there are healthy, socialized birds out there.

GlassOnion wrote:

I can see how you feel, it must be very rewarding. There are a lot of people out there who discourage breeding due to the abundance of neglected/rescued birds out there.. I'm curious, how do you see this from a breeder's standpoint? Do you ever feel bad or anything? I'm actually just curious, not trying to attack you or anything, as I do think it is important that there are healthy, socialized birds out there.

People are going to buy them anyway. I see it as they have a better chance at a nice pet that will become a part of the family and not off handedly ditch if it comes from me versus a bird that's been sitting in PetCo for years or a bird from the swap meet. As someone put it to me recently, I provide ongoing tech support which to them was an added bonus.