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parakeets, conures and parrots?

Macaws, Cockatoos, Greys, Poicephalus, Conures, Lovebirds, Parrotlets, Parakeets etc. Discuss topics related to specific species of parrots and their characteristics, mutations, pros, and cons.

parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby Munchy » Sun Dec 12, 2010 11:39 am

I am trying to understand the difference between these species. I have learned through this forum that parakeets are not the budgies I always thought, but larger parrots with long tails. What is the difference between all these? If a conure is a parrot with a long flat tail, isn't that also the description of a parakeet? How come every time I write conure the spell check says it is wrong?
I like thinking of Disney as a Conure not a parakeet, it seems a bit more parroty.
Is it that parrot is a wide description and conure and parakeet fall underneath as a kind of parrot?
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Re: parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby zazanomore » Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:07 pm

Aren't conures parakeets?
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Re: parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby Matanimat » Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:46 pm

All budgies are parakeets. All conures are parakeets. But no budgie is a conure and no conure is a budgie.
A parakeet is basically any small to medium sized parrot with long tail feathers that doesn't belong to the genus cacatua (like cockatiels). So, budgies, quakers, conures, ringnecks and rosellas are all parakeets. Small/medium parrots that DON'T have a long tail (parrotlets and lovebirds, for example) aren't referred to as parakeets.
A lot of parrot species aren't recognized on a spell check. :P To fix that, you can just add it to the 'dictionary.'
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Re: parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby entrancedbymyGCC » Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:48 pm

Parakeet, conure and parrot are all general terms that don't have a close mapping onto genera and species. A parrot is any parrot-type bird including conures and parakeets. A parakeet is any small, long-tailed parrot. Some species use the word "parakeet" in their common names, others don't tend to. Conures are a collection of relatively small, relatively long-tailed, white-eye-ringed south american parrots belonging to a relatively limited set of genera including Pyrrhura, Aratinga (meaning small macaw btw) and nandayus among others. Some like to advocate the use of the word "parakeet" in their common names (i.e. Green Cheeked Parakeet rather than Green Cheeked Conure) but the majority seem to find the term "conure" descriptive and useful. It's still used in the big coffee table parrot book and most people know when a bird "looks like a conure". But Our Fearless Leader is one who advocates calling everything on the small side a parakeet.

Which I think would make a Hahn's Macaw a "parakeet". Hmmm.

Bottom line is that this is about English common names and has little to do with taxonomy.
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Re: parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby Shani » Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:19 pm

It's funny - where I am in Aus, the term parakeet is rarely used. Budgies are budgies, conures are conures, Indian ringnecks are Indian ringnecks, etc. I actually can't think off the top of my head any parrot species around here that's referred to as [something] parakeet :P
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Re: parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby michellet » Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:12 pm

Shani wrote:It's funny - where I am in Aus, the term parakeet is rarely used. Budgies are budgies, conures are conures, Indian ringnecks are Indian ringnecks, etc. I actually can't think off the top of my head any parrot species around here that's referred to as [something] parakeet :P


I'm in Australia too....and the only time I've heard/seen the term "parakeet" used has been on US or UK websites/books/tv.
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Re: parakeets, conures and parrots?

Postby Becco Lunatico » Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:21 pm

Informative thread with nice articulations!

Thanks!
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