Tag: california

bird of the day: half-moon conure

the half-moon conure, also known as the orange-fronted parakeet, is a medium-sized parrot that is found from mexico to costa rica.

the half-moon conure feeds on various flowers, buds, seeds, vegetation, and fruit. a known favorite of this bird is figs.

outside of the breeding season, half-moon conures live in large flocks, sometimes of over a hundred birds.

this bird has unusual nesting habits. both the male and female work tirelessly to hollow out a termite nest. once the termites create a ‘seal’ around the damage, they use the hollow within the nest to raise their young. they also occasionally use empty woodpecker hollows.

the half-moon conure has also established a breeding population in california. normally, feral parrots cannot sustain a population for a long period of time, but this flock has been recorded since 1998.

this conure is rated ‘least concern’ by the iucn, but they have suffered population declines due to trapping for the pet trade.

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mitred conures are native to south america, but in the early 2000’s they established themselves in california. it’s uncertain how the birds arrive – theories range from a pet store fire that led to escaped birds to a dropped wild bird shipment in an airport – but it seems they are here to stay, as their numbers have rose from 50 in 2000 to 200-300. the biggest populations of the birds are in san francisco and los angeles. the birds even starred in the documentary “the wild parrots of telegraph hill”. there has been little evidence to show impact on native species (the conures tend to feed off of nonnative plants), and they are well loved by many locals.

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