The
Yellow-Eared Conure is gregarious, travelling and roosting in
flocks. It is nomadic and mobile, often travelling to favored
locations at the same times each season.The
Yellow-Eared Conure is gregarious, travelling and roosting in
flocks. It is nomadic and mobile, often travelling to favored
locations at the same times each season.
Nests are located near the roosts of the larger flock. The adult breeding birds become very vocal in the evenings as if to strongly encourage the larger flocks to roost and stay near by. This cooperation between non-breeding and breeding birds is clearly beneficial to the nesting pair in warning against possible predators.
One
of the most unique behaviors of the Yellow-Eared Conure is the
assistance of a third adult bird with parental duties. The fieldworkers
have observed these helper birds assist the breeding parents feed
and care for the chicks. Cooperative breeding assistants have
only been observed in one other parrot (psittacidae) family -
the Australasia fig parrotlets.
The
non-breeding flocks normally roost in three to five palms that
are located close together. The birds move along the palm fronds
towards the "heart" of the palm (the frond base) where
they sleep. Pairs can be seen sleeping side-by-side and non-paired
individuals are situated further apart and on different fronds.
The flock departs the roost site
early in the mornings to forage for food at higher elevations
until 
returning
to the roost area later in the afternoon. Breeding pairs leave
to forage with the flock early but will make two to three additional
trips during the day to feed chicks. Radio transmitters attached
to individual birds have assisted researchers to study the movements
of the birds and their foraging areas.
Fieldworkers have observed the Yellow-Eared Conure eating the fruit, bark, flowers and shoots of various trees. The wax palm is the most preferred of the trees. Local people sometimes think that the birds feed on maize, but the farmers who grow maize only identify the Bronze-winged Pionus (Pionous chalcopterus) as feeding on the crop.
The
Yellow-Eared Conure is accustomed to seeing humans nearby. The
bird can be particularly stubborn about staying in an area even
when humans are becoming more numerous. Fieldworkers observed
persecution at a roost in Ecuador in which the parrots continued
to use the same palm until it fell and then they simply moved
to the next palm over rather than leave the area. This behavior
makes the Yellow-Eared Conure an easy target for hunters who highly
prize its meat in soups.
Much has been gained from the study of the Yellow-Eared Conure in the past two years, however, this is only the beginning of learning about this species. The Proyecto Ognorhynchus team plans to continue observing flocks, breeding pairs and nesting sites for additional insight that can help formulate a conservation strategy.