Another shot of Bubbles & Echo siblings, only three months old preening each other and cuddling, Bubbles is the new addition to the family. Bubbles was one of 6 Maroon-bellied Conures hand raised by a family in Nelson NZ. They had one conure and decided to get another to keep their one company. They thought that they had two males, and 6 beautiful chicks later a large family that the parent conures could not keep up with. All six babies survived, they were hand raised and are now distributed around homes in NZ. Our daughter has one in Christchurch Echo. Bubbles is settling in well, but I think that Sunshines nose is a little out of joint with the new family addition, I am sure he will settle and become friends with his new brother. Like humans the arrival of a new baby can bring many changes to a family. Many parents spend a lot of energy on preparations, and after the baby arrives, much of the family’s attention involves meeting the newborn’s basic needs. All this change can be hard for older siblings to handle. It’s common for them to feel jealousy toward the newborn and to react to the upheaval by acting out.
The Maroon-bellied Parakeet (Pyrrhura frontalis) is a small parrot found from southeastern Brazil to north-eastern Argentina, including eastern Paraguay and Uruguay. It is also known as the Reddish-bellied Parakeet, and in aviculture it is usually referred to as the Maroon-bellied Conure, Reddish-bellied Conure or Brown-eared Conure. These birds range from 25 to 28 cm (10–11 in), and are primarily green, with a maroon patch on the belly, a “scaly” yellow-green-barred breast and sides of neck, a whitish ear-patch often tinged brown, and a maroon undertail. The specific name frontalis is a reference to its dark maroon frontlet – a feature which separates it from most similar species. The primaries are blue on the outer webs, green on the inner webs, and dark on the tips. The beak is black.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Feb. 2011 Southland
FEATURED ON EXPLORE September 2011

*Cuddles

Happy Valentines Day!

Bubbles

Surly! Not another Photo! – Sun Conure

Garden Inspection

Original Music: Funky Wild by Keith Lightfoot
Walk On The Wild Side