I think I heard my sun conure

[HeartHaze]

Hi. So before my sun conure Quincy, I also had a sun conure named Rio. I had him for less than a year. At that time, his cage was placed outside, because the people in the house didn't want the cage inside (but now, after the incident, Quincy's cage is now indside). Anyway, one morning I was already in the car on the way to school when my aunt called and told me that Rio got out of the cage. Long story short, we tried to look for him, but wasn't able to find him. This was 5 years ago, but just this morning, I think I heard a sun conure scream around the area near our place.

I'm from the Philippines and it is extremely rare for people to have a pet parrot especially expensive ones. Most common birds kept as pets are cockatiels, lovebirds, and budgies.

My problem is I'm not sure yet if what I heard is really a sun conure scream. I was inside the car and we took a different route going to school. Even asked my driver if that scream sounded like Quincy's, and he said yes. This place is a squatters area, so I can't just rush in there (quite scary for me). Still talking with my aunt how we'll proceed, because they might try to hide him if ever.

I'll update my post when I have news. I really hope it's him.

P.S. Are sun conure screams or conure screams in general unique? Or do you know of any other species that might sound like them?

[Wolf]

Hi, Hearthaze ;
This makes quite a story and it poses some interesting questions as well as possibly some complicated issues. I am curious now, to say the least. I hope that you won't mind me asking some questions, I will understand if you don't want to answer them, but , I am going to ask in the hopes that you will indulge my curiousity and reply to them.
I know absolutely nothing about the Philippines, could you explain to me what a squatters area is and what kind of people live there ?
If you can't just go there and walk about looking and listening, how do you propose to find out if there is a Sun Conure there ?
So if you discover that there is a Sun Conure in this squatters area, do you have a means to positively identify yours from another one ?
Let's assume for now that there is a Sun Conure there and that you are able to prove that it is your bird. Let's assume that 5 years ago someone found your bird and took him in and gave him a good loving home and they have bonded to each other. How would you deal with this ?
These are my questions, I hope that you don't mind them too much. I am hoping for this to turn out for the best for all concerned, especially for the bird.

[Pajarita]

Jendays and Sundays have screams that are VERY similar to sun conures -so similar that I can't tell the difference between the two although I assume that some people could.

By the way, lovebirds, budgies and cockatiels are parrots, too.

[Harpmaker]

How exciting! I hope that it works out well for you.

[HeartHaze]

@Pajarita - my bad. Thank you!
@Harpmaker - Thank you
@Wolf - No problem
Here's my answer:
1. The squatter's area that I'm talking about is a BIG lot abandoned by its owner. The squatters have built their home there for quite some time. There may be ex convicts or convicts that live/hide there, lots and lots of kids running around that would sometimes scratch your car or may even spit on you. There would be random fights (in rare occasions there would be someone dead. Frequently, they'd be brought to the prison) because most of the time they'd be drinking.

With these said, I hope you don't think of Philippines as a bad place in general. It's only like this in the slums/squatters (part governement, part people's fault).

2 and 3. Skipping this because I'll answer it in my next post

[HeartHaze]

While passing by there again in a car, I FOUND A SUN CONURE in a small cage (yes, small) by the window. Judging from the bright yellow feathers, he is already mature.

My driver grew up in the slums so he volunteered to go there. He'll be the one to ask questions like where he got the sun, or how long did he have him.

I'm pretty confident that he really is Rio because no one in the squatters would buy a bird worth Php 10k-15k ($230-350). Even my family laughed and scolded me at first for buying an expensive bird (well, now they understand my love for them).

Well even with that I'm still not 100% sure he's mine. I'm really hoping my driver will bring me good news.

I hope I answered your questions. Will be glad to answer if any of you have any further questions

[Wolf]

Ok, now I know what a squatters area is. Thank you, there are slums and homeless people here in the States as well and I am familiar with a few of them.
Will be waiting to hear more about this, and still hoping for the best.

[Pajarita]

Didn't Rio have a leg band? Because, if he did and even if you never did write the identifying numbers down, the breeder or the store where you originally bought it would have kept a record.

[HeartHaze]

After going through so much trouble (and spending money), I finally got Rio back.

At first, the person didn't want to give him back because I answered a question wrong. He asked me if the bird had a ring on it. I answered no thinking he was talking about the leg band (the breeder where I bought him sometimes doesn't put leg bands. I was sure he didn't have one because when I got my second bird, which is Quincy, I made sure he got a leg band). The ring he was talking about was a small wire ring that a pet shop owner recommended I put on him (for a reason I can't remember). I didn't know much about ring safety issues that time (I'm so sorry. He was my first real pet bird. I now know better). It was five years ago, so I forgot about that small detail. Because of that, he refused to return him. Long story short, I got really sad and cried so much. It was heartbreaking for me to see a bird that I raised be kept in a small cage and being fed only sunflower seeds. He was placed in a terrace, it was raining, his only shelter was a wooden nest box. It was just too painful to see. The people at home kept telling me to give up, and just buy a new bird. It's easy to buy a new bird, but the effort and love I gave Rio were irreplaceable. They didn't understand that.

I kept on going back to his house. The last return to him I brought Quincy to show proof that I was taking care of the same specie (as I've said, I'm confident that I'm one of the few people taking care of a sun conure). I was really begging him to return him to me. He finally gave in and told me he'll return my bird only if I replace him with another one.

I bought an indian ringneck the next day (because they said they wanted a talking bird. Ringnecks are better talkers than conures, so I got them that). Just so you know, it was hard for me to give the ringneck to them in exchange for Rio. Just thinking about how he'll be placed in that same cage is really sad, but I had no choice. I hope you don't judge me for this. I really didn't know what to do.

Just last night, I got Rio back. He is now in a big cage I bought just yesterday too. I already put toys and different perches. He was still sweet just like before, but now he doesn't trust humans that much. He accepts food from my hand but still runs away when I try to touch him. I'll work on getting him to trust me again.

As for the person (and the bird I gave away), I tried to educate him on how to take care of birds. The person seems to really love birds, but he isn't educated enough on how to properly care for one. Told them that vegetables should be a big part of the diet (they won't be able to afford pellets), and that the cage should be kept clean all the time. Also told them that I'd be asking someone to go back there and give them some of my extra toys.

Btw, I'm really sure he is Rio because we were able to have a good conversation with the person. He said that he was caught by his neighbor a really long time ago. His neighbor was about to sell him to a pet "black market", but he bought him from him instead.

[HeartHaze]

I find it really hard to believe that I got Rio back after 5 long years. I accepted the fact that he might've been caught, sold, and staying at a really far home, or worse ran into an accident. Who would've thought that I'd be able to see him and take care of him once again

I'll be posting a new thread soon on Rio and Quincy's state