Pyrrhura x Large Conure Hybrids

[MonicaMc]

These hybrids are becoming more and more popular. I am only aware of potential health problems between Green Cheek x Sun hybrids, however, I have heard and seen quite a few. The majority of these hybrids occurred when an owner had two separate species together and they were told that their birds could not reproduce.... only, they did!

Green Cheek x Sun The most popular hybrid, known to have birth defects (usually restrained to feet) and have been known to have high chick mortality rates (heard this from a breeder)

This is the first hybrid that I have seen in photos. It took NINE years for his parents to produce him. He was born with deformed feet. Coda was produced by a male green cheek and a female sun conure.
Green Cheek x Sun Conure - Coda | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Sun Conure - Coda | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Sun Conure - Coda | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Sun Conure - Coda | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Sun Conure - Coda | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Another male green cheek and female sun produced two clutches of chicks. The first clutch appeared quite healthy
with mom and dad | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
all 4 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The owner told me that the second clutch were all born with foot deformaties, and she supposedly stopped breeding after that clutch.
babies 012 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
babies 009 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
babies 013 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

There is another hybrid that had swelling of his toes so badly that he had to go through surgery as a chick to get one removed. This chick is the result of two green cheeks and a sun conure living together in an aviary, and they had been laying eggs for at least two years before he/she was produced. It was assumed that the green cheeks were females, so the actual sex of the parents is unknown, but for now, I am assuming that it was between a female green cheek and a male sun conure. I know where photos are, however, thanks to a forum update, they are no longer available.


Due to the large amount of hybrids born with foot deformities, this is one hybrid I am not crazy about. They are adorably cute, but I can't help but wonder what other health issues these birds might have. I have not heard of any issues with the adult hybrids, but then, I haven't been able to keep in touch with an owner who has a hybrid older than 1-2 years in age.



Green Cheek x Nanday I'm only aware of one in existence, this hybrid appears healthy.

Miracle is the result of a male green cheek and a female nanday.
Green Cheek x Nanday - Miracle & Family | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Nanday - Miracle | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Nanday - Miracle | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Green Cheek x Nanday - Miracle | Flickr - Photo Sharing!



Green Cheek x Patagonian I have only heard of one but have not seen it, nor know anything else about it.



Green Cheek x Dusky These hybrids have, so far to my knowledge, appeared healthy.

These birds are being sold on Hoobly and other websites.
Dusky x Green Cheek Conure | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Dusky x Green Cheek Conure | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Dusky x Green Cheek Conure | Flickr - Photo Sharing!



Maroon Bellied x Dusky These hybrids have, so far to my knowledge, appeared healthy.

Black Capped Conures

 

[DannyA93]

I dont really like conure hybrids. due to the health probs and they all look the same lol they look like greencheeks without the front scaly feathers? the nanday one had the same exact colors but had the body shape of a nanday. not to crazy about those

 

[Thingamagigs]

the dusky x gcc was adorable!

 

[Abigal7]

I personaly do not agree with conure hybrids nor do I like them.

 

[MonicaMc]

Honestly, I haven't heard of any health problems in conure hybrids outside of the Sun x Green Cheeks!

There are many Pyrrhura hybrids out there because people couldn't tell the subspecies apart. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of our green cheeks in captivity are hybrids!

The large conures are typically easier to tell apart, but there are subspecies in some of them as well... Sun x Jenday, Sun x Nanday and the occasion Sun x Dusky seem to be the more common hybrids in the large conure group... but I've also seen Nanday x Peachfront, Nanday x Cherry Head, Sun x Mitred, Cherry Head x Mitred, Mitred x Waglers, Sun x Cherry Head, Sun x Blue Crown, Blue Crown x Nanday, Blue Crown x Cherry Head, Jenday x Dusky, Jenday x Nanday, etc.


Here are some other conure hybrids
Flickr: Search Hybrid Parrots
Flickr: Search Hybrid Parrots



In there you should see an unconfirmed Patagonian x B&G macaw, a Nanday x Illiger/Blue Winged Macaw hybrid, and below is supposedly a Mitred Conure x Blue Front (?) Amazon that I recently found out about.

2012 | Papegaaien rijden scheve schaats


Blue Crowns, Suns and Nandays have been known to hybridize with Hahn's Macaws, and a Mitred Conure hybridized with a Noble Macaw. In short, there's a lot of hybrids out there!

 

[Aquila]

I see a lot of Greencheeks marked as "Fancy" that I'm pretty sure are hybrids. I know Petco sells a lot of hybrids, "SunDays" and I've seen Goldcap x Sun, and Goldcap x Jenday.

My store sells "Fancy" green cheeks on occasion, but none that I've ever seen were hybrids, they were just cinnamon mutation.

I'm personally against hybrids, because there's no benefit to it. It's not making any improvements to health, and can actually detriment it. It's one thing when things happen in the wild and people reproduce it, rather than introducing two birds together and hoping they make live young. I think people forget it's not like breeding two dogs together, birds are much different genetically and things don't always go right!

 

[MonicaMc]

Aquila, they are probably all hybrid green cheeks. I don't mean hybrid with another species, but subspecies hybrids. The following website tries to show the differences between a few of the green cheek subspecies (and mentions 6 total subspecies)

green cheeked


This site lists 1 nominate species and 4 subspecies

Lexicon of Parrots


Although, I think I've heard that there are up to 8 subspecies (including nominate) altogether?


This site recognizes 6 total

Green-cheeked Conure (Pyrrhura molinae) | Parrot Encyclopedia



Sad thing is, is that when I first got into bird keeping, I recall seeing people selling the different subspecies... aka Sordid, Santa Cruz, Crimson Tailed, Austral.... Now-a-days? They're all green cheeks... and I've seen the evidence of all the hybridization in the normal green cheeks.

At the same time, I find it ironic, especially if people own a bird that has subspecies, meaning that there's a possibility that the bird that they have is a hybrid... even more so if the person is against hybrids.

I'm personally against hybrids, because there's no benefit to it. It's not making any improvements to health, and can actually detriment it.

It's true that breeding hybrids may be detrimental to the offspring, but honestly, it depends on how closely related the parents are. I.E. Subspecies hybrids or closely related species (sun & jenday for example) probably result in hybrids that are healthier than their parents! All the alexandrine mutations in Australia are the result of hybridization through indian ringnecks.

On the flip side, if the parents aren't closely enough related, we see sterility, birth defects, or perhaps something as simple as behavior incompatibilities. Peachface lovebird hybrids are sterile and they don't know whether to carry the material in their rumps (like peach faces) or to carry it in their beaks (like the eyering parent). Green cheek x sun conure hybrids are known for foot deformities and a high chick mortality rate. Third, fourth and fifth generation macaws must be sterile if we aren't seeing anything beyond 4th or 5th generation hybrids. Second generation hybrid hyacinths (i.e. one parent is a hyacinth hybrid) may have high chick mortality rates (unconfirmed, as the only pair that I know that successfully reproduced were siblings)

It's one thing when things happen in the wild and people reproduce it, rather than introducing two birds together and hoping they make live young.

Not all hybrids were intentional. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of hybrids were due to ignorance or accidental (didn't think two different species would, let alone could, hybridize). (this is going back to hybrids between similar species or between subspecies)

I think people forget it's not like breeding two dogs together, birds are much different genetically and things don't always go right!

I agree with you there... we can't compare breeding birds to breeding dogs on a species/breed level. However, I have done so, on a 'genetic level' - in other words, the health of the offspring. A lot of people understand dog breeding better than they do parrot breeding, so I've used terms such as "hybrid vigor" and "outbreeding depression". As long as it gets the point across, that's the goal.



I'm against hybridizing in general. If it's going to be done, I want to see it done responsibly. Healthy adults, healthy offspring, offspring are very obviously hybrids, and sold as such. I don't want to see unhealthy hybrids or hybrids being sold as pure species.... but I see quite a few hybrids or hybrid pairs being sold as pure species.