Animal-World > Birds > Conures > Jenday Conure

Jenday Conure ~ Janday ConureJandaya Conure, Yellow-headed Conure

Family: Psittacidae

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Aratinga jandayaPhoto Courtesy: Flavia Lopes

     The Jenday Conure is probably the best known of the Aratinga conures, as well as being one of the most popular and commonly kept!

     The Jenday Conure is quite striking with its beautiful colors. They are closely related to the Sun Conure Aratinga solstitialis and the Golden-capped Conure Aratinga auricapilla. Sometimes there is confusion between the Jenday Conure and the Sun Conure but you can easily identify the Jenday by its green wings and back, while the Sun has mostly yellow wings.

     A super sweet bird, the attractive Jenday Conure is very sociable and makes a very tame and loveable companion. They love to "talk", and yes, they are rather noisy little creatures. Being very active, they enjoy playing with toys, climbing, and chewing. Their antics can be very comical and at the same time they are very affectionate.

     If you are looking for a beautiful conure, the Jenday Conure will certainly capture your attention. It is also much less costly than the Golden Conure or the Queen of Bavaria Conure, two conures which are often touted for their beauty.

For more information about the care of Conures see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Conure

Scientific Name: Aratinga jandaya

Distribution:      These birds are native to northeastern Brazil.

Description:      The Jenday Conure is a small member of the parrot family, and is very colorful. The head and upper breast are a golden yellow that blends into a reddish gold on the lower abdomen. Sometimes they will have an olive yellow breast. The wings, upper tail, and upper back are green moving into an orangish red on the lower back. The underside of the tail is black and the under side of the wings are an orangish red. The tip of the tail and the outer wing feathers are blue. The beak and the feet are black.      A mature Jenday Conure reaches its full coloration at about two years of age. A younger bird will have duller coloration; a paler yellow head and neck with some greens, and a paler red on the breast.

Size - Weight:      The Jenday Conure will get up to 11 4/5" (30 cm), 4.4 ozs for the male and 5 ozs for the female (125g -142 g).

Care and feeding:      A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch. They eat a variety of sprouts, seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat.

     See About Conures: Housing and About Conures: Care and Feeding for more information.

Social Behaviors:      They live in pairs or small groups of 10 to 15 birds. They love to play, and can be fairly destructive if not watched. They can also be rather noisy. Despite all this, they make a real fun pet and are very popular.

Breeding/Reproduction:      They breed readily if they have the right size aviary. Though these birds will need to be either DNA or surgically sexed for a certain determination, the iris of the female is light brown and they have a grayish white eye ring while the male's iris is darker and his eye ring is pure white.      The hen lays three to four eggs which are incubated for about 26 days. Both parents will feed the young. The young fledge (leave the nest) after about two months. The ideal nest box size should be 21 1/2" x 10" x 11" (55x25x28 cm), with a 2 3/4" opening (7 cm) which the parents will chew on and alter it to their liking.      There has been a hybrid conure produced by crossing a Jenday Conure with a Nanday Conure.

Potential Problems:      As with most Aratinga species, this bird can be noisy.      See About Conures: Potential Problems for information on illnesses.

Availability:    This bird is generally available. They can usually be found at pet stores and reputable breeders.

Activities:   Loves to climb and play. Provide lots of toys.

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Latest Comments
How can someone borrow a Jenday for breading? Yija 2010-01-24
Mary, I'm looking for an answer to the same question. My husband's friend had a Jenday that was always quite friendly with my husband. The friend ended up giving Kirby to my husband. At first, Kirby was friendly with everyone but after awhile he became attached to me and now attacks my husband. My husband says the bird thinks I'm his "mate" and views my husband as competition... The bird is still friendly with visitors. Just hates my husband and sons... Sounds crazy but my opinion is these birds easily get their feeling hurt when the one they love starts paying too much attention to someone else (human or feathered) -- and there is no fury like the fury of a Jenday who has perceived (incorrectly) the he/she has been scorned! rose 2010-01-02
I have a Jen-dey his name is Noah I got him while my husband was out of town, and he was great and affectionate with me till my husband got home, now he will go to my husband all the time but he will fly off his perch to attack me on purpose, but when I take hime to go out of town to my job and husband not around he's back to his normal self but as soon as I get home he turns into Dr. Jekyl what can I do and why is he doing this I cant sit on my couch without him attacking and biting me. mary blevins 2009-12-26
Hi This is for Dr. Michelle Levan in your comments page, looking for an adoptive home for Ernie. Iam interested please if you still have him. Anne 2009-11-20
I have a 10 month old Jenday who is spoiled ROTTEN beyond belief. He hasn't started talking yet, but loves to "click" to get kisses. He is trying to do the wolf whistle and getting really good at it. He is a total riot! I put my hand in the cage when I want him out and he gives me loves, kisses and rubs all over my hand. (I haven't had him DNA'd, but to me, he's a he, lol) He also announces anytime the door opens or shuts, and anytime my husband comes home from work he screams. In the morning before the kids get up, I have to walk around really quiet and not talk or Patrick (named after Patrick Starfish) will wake everybody up. He's my baby, that's for sure, and I cant wait to spend many many more years together! Amy Eddy 2009-11-17
Some of the coolest comments:
My husband and I have a very young jenday conure. Its name is Graceful. It was the name given by the caretaker at the pet store, but we decided to keep it because it describes its personality. Today we are taking Graceful to its first veterinary appt hopefully we'll find its gender later. Graceful is clownish, cuddly, brattish at times, but lots of fun. It is beginning to learn a few words, it tries them at night before going to sleep. Graceful is also a very picky eater. We have not been able to feed him fruit and veggies. Grace does love bean sprouts, dehydrated mango, papaya bits and shredded carrot, but it feeds mostly on pellets. We are trying to add more variety to its diet. Ah, its day is not complete without a bath. Lately, it likes to dunk pellets in its water dish after the bath, and prefers balsa wood toys to chew/destroy. It hisses and gets aggresive with a platic ball with a rattle we don't know why though. What is most amazing is that it has never been exposed to that kind of toy before. We wonder what it reminded it of, or what danger Graceful associates it with. Isabel 2009-10-16

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