Nanday Conure
Aratinga nenday
Also called Nanday parakeet, Black-hooded parakeet, Black-hooded conure
From Central South America: south-eastern Bolivia, south-western Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina, with the Pantanal as a stronghold. It favours palm savanna, scrub, open woodland and pasture. Free-living populations have also become established in Florida, California and several other places.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Feathered; medium conure with a long, blue-edged tail
A mainly green conure with a striking black hood over the face and a black beak. The upper chest has a bluish wash, the flight feathers are dark, the long tail is edged in blue and the thighs show a splash of red. Males and females look alike.12
Personality what they are like
Nanday conures are energetic, sociable birds that enjoy being part of the action. They can learn words and tricks, and they thrive on attention and mental challenges. Their voice is loud and chattery, and their beak is strong, so they tend to suit adults and older children who enjoy an animated, noisy companion.12
Daily activity how busy a day looks
High energy: needs generous daily time outside the cage, puzzle and foraging toys, and regular training or play to use up its energy.1
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Provide plenty of toys and bird-safe wood to chew, and regular opportunities to bathe.23
Home where they are happiest
A roomy cage for daily life; for aviary birds the World Parrot Trust recommends an aviary or suspended flight at least 2-3 m long.21
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Wild birds eat seeds, fruit, palm nuts, berries, flowers and buds. In the home, feed pellets plus a good share of fruit (around 30% of the diet in the World Parrot Trust guidance), vegetables, greens and some seeds.12
Company who they like around
Very gregarious. Outside the breeding season wild birds gather in big communal roosts that can hold hundreds of birds, and pets need a lot of company from their people.21
The story where it all began
The Nanday conure spent many years as the only member of its own genus, Nandayus. Genetic work later showed it belongs with the Aratinga conures such as the sun and jenday conures. It became widely kept as a pet, and escaped birds went on to found free-living flocks in several countries.1
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Free-living flocks of Nanday conures live in Florida, where they number in the hundreds.2
- 2
Wild birds gather in communal roosts that can hold several hundred birds.2
- 3
At waterholes they mix with other bird species while drinking.2
- 4
Its tail is edged in blue and its thighs carry a small splash of red, easy to miss next to the black hood.1
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern; the World Parrot Trust lists the population trend as increasing.2
- Taxonomy
- Monotypic. It was long placed in its own genus, Nandayus, before being moved into Aratinga after genetic studies.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Nanday Conure. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh food and waterevery day
- Cage linerevery 2 days
- Full cleanevery week
- Bath offerevery 3 days
- Nails checkevery month
- Beak checkevery month
- Toy rotationevery week
- Out-of-cage timeAbout 2 hours a dayevery day
- Vet check-upevery year
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Nanday parakeet - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for range, size, plumage, lifespan, taxonomy, pet notes
- Nanday Conure - World Parrot Trust parrots.orgused for size, lifespan, care, diet, behaviour, status
- Conure - Lafeber lafeber.comused for general conure bathing
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.