First Captive Breeding of the Fiery-shouldered Conure

Abstract

Fiery-shouldered Conures (Pyrrh u ra egregia) were virtually unknown in American aviculture until the importation of a small group from Guyana in the fall of 1986. As in many members of the genus Pyrrhura, the Fiery-shoulder has predominately green plumage with distinctive splashes of color. In this species, the bend of the wing, carpal edge, and under wing coverts are yellow, extensively marked with orange. The bird also has a narrow brown frontal band, and reddishbrown ear coverts. Feathers of the sides of neck, throat and upper breast are green edged with yellowish white giving a barred appearance. The center of the abdomen is variably suffused with brownish red. The tail is dark reddish-brown above, basally marked with green and greyish below. The bill is horn colored, the eyes hazel, and the legs grey. Juveniles have less yellow and orange-red on bend of wing, and less pronounced barring on throat and breast. 1 Guyana, the third smallest country in South America (about the size of Idaho), is located on the northern coast, between Venezuela and Surinam. Despite its small size, it is the second largest exporter of neotropical parrots. The country is divided into three geographic regions. The coastal plain, a 60-km wide strip between mountains and the Caribbean Sea, is the home of the majority of the population of approximately 800,000. The llanos is a savannah region of the southwestern part of the country bordering Brazil. The third region, the highland forests of the Guiana shield, is the home of the Fiery-shouldered Conure. This region, consisting of the middle and southeastern three-fourths of the country, is a remnant of an ancient plateau. Mountains in this region are usually called tepuis, an Amerindian word meaning flat-topped mountains. This region may be referred to as the pantepui region. It is accessible only by small plane. There are no roads and the rivers are not navigable due to numerous falls and rapids as the rivers descend from the Guiana shield. Mt. Roraima, which is found on the westcentral border of Guyana at the border between Brazil and Venezuela, is in this region. It is the highest point in Guyana, reaching an elevation of 9, 094 feet. 2 Forshaw reported that Fieryshouldered Conures are found in southeast Venezuela and adjoining regions of western Guyana and extreme northwestern Roraima, Brazil. P.e. egregia is the subspecies found in Guyana. He reported that in Venezuela they inhabit isolated table top mountains but occur in tropical forests in Guyana. Ridgely reported it as a bird of the precipitous upper tropical and subtropical zones, in Venezuela being recorded at 700 to 1, 800 meters. He also reported it from tropical altitudes in Guyana as well as the Mazuruni River and its tributaries. They are fairly common within their range and moderately gregarious occurring in flocks of four to six birds. 1·2 Kurt Herzog, a Swiss-born naturalized Guyanese citizen, trapped this breeding collection and, according to available information, all Fieryshoulders that have been exported from Guyana. He reported that they are found around the upper Mazaruni River, a tributary of the Essequibo River which is the largest river in Guyana. They are also found around...