Black capped vs Green Cheek

Who has experience with both. Are black capped truly less nippy/gentler?

I don't know anything about black capped conures, but I remember that I have read somewhere about maroon bellied conures to be more even tempered than GCC. Not sure if anyone has experience confirming that.

The black capped aren’t that common. The breeder said they are a little gentler, but mostly the same.

I only have experience with baby green cheeks and they were so amazing, one of my favorites of the small parrots.

Both are pyrrhura conures. Won’t be much difference to really speak of, species wise. It will be down to the individual.

Valyndris said:

I only have experience with baby green cheeks and they were so amazing, one of my favorites of the small parrots.

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Can you tell me why?

Baby GCC are goofballs! But like all toddlers, they grow up! Every creature, going through the rages of maturing is a handful! This is when so many folks throw them away! Unfortunate! Once through this they settle down, a real plus for adopting a castaway!

I don't have a black capped but I have a cinnamon gcc and a "regular gcc".

Both are female, clark the cinnamon sees herself as the matriarch will give a bit of a pinch if I leave them alone for to long, after all she is alpha.

The regular gcc doesn't hold a grudge, but will nip not knowing that "crap that hurt a bit..." but it's never in anger. she's younger...

That's all I know on the subject, but might help you out.

In all its not really a bite it's a look i'm in charge dominance thing or whatever...real bites get a time out.

Sunnyclover has both species - GCC and BCC but I haven't seen her for a while. Maybe somebody else here has an experience with them both. I think like chris-md, there shouldn't be many differences but I can't say what differences as I have only a GCC. I heard that rose crowned conures bite the least of all Phyrrura conures. Unfortunetely that's all what I know about any differences of any Phyrrura's

I sent a message to SunnyClover because she also has a nanday and sun. I have a jenday and I am trying to decide between a nanday or GCC. I prefer the nandays personality but I want a smaller bird. I don’t like the sounds of a bossy aggressive little biting bird. However the GCC are so popular I figure they can’t be that bad. My heart wants the nanday but I also want a smaller bird, smaller space needs, smaller price tag on toys and cages, smaller damage due to smaller beaks. But the Nandays are supposed to be very friendly and sweet. Loud, yes. It’s hard decision. Actually I will probably happy with either.

I don't have a BCC, but do have a Jenday, Sun, 2 BTCs and a GCC. The only one who can be out at the same time as my GCC is my Sun, the others all attack him. They are all much larger and could do serious harm in a split second. It really does come down to the individual birds. I'm not sure if separate time outs would be a factor for you, but it is something to consider.
I honestly think you should follow your heart. My GCC has just as large a cage as the others, and although I make all their toys so price isn't a factor, if I were buying them they wouldn't be a lot cheaper than the ones for the bigger conures.

I love that you are asking questions before adding a second bird

I have a black capped conure and 2 greencheeks. Honestly as stated above there isn’t much difference between them. I got my pineapple conure first with no real preference on colours but when I starting thinking about getting a second one I saw a black-capped and thought they were really beautiful. It took a while to hunt one down as they seem quite rare, at least in the UK. My black capped is the least tame but that might just be down to the breeder and not necessarily the sub species!
When introducing them to one another the first few times there was some fighting, the 3 now all get on really well. I think the black capped may be slightly more of a bully than the other two are but then again that might be down to the individual rather than the species!
They’re the same size, they obviously recognise each other as the same, eat the same and I love all three, I wanted a black capped because I thought they were really beautiful but I think compared to a green cheek there’s not much difference!
Again I don’t know if it’s because my black capped is less tame and so I don’t have as much ‘hands-on’ time (cuddles and training sort of thing) with him but he (don’t know gender) definitely hasn’t bitten me as hard as the other two, I would’ve thought being less tame he’d be more scared and hence bite harder but that doesn’t seem to be the case. When he bites it’s more of a curiosity and having a feel rather than a sharp nip that the other two might give on the odd occasion!
Hope this helps!

Pampa said:

Valyndris said:

I only have experience with baby green cheeks and they were so amazing, one of my favorites of the small parrots.

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Can you tell me why?

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They were very friendly and social, they loved to play on their backs which was so cute. I find them to be more affectionate than other small parrots other than cockatiels. They just loved to cuddle and be on me all the time. Most liked hanging out in my hair and it was so adorable. Again my experience was mostly just with babies as my mother had the pet store and I helped keep them tame, so I didn't get to see most birds after the hormones kick in.

I own a black capped (BC) but not a GCC. I've spent time with a friend's GCC, but he was not overly friendly. I can compare the BC to a parrotlet, since a family member owns one. And I can compare the BC to a cockatiel, since I've owned that in the past.

The biggest difference I've noticed is that my BC is quieter than any other birds I've had contact with. The parrotlet is grumpier and nippier than mine now, but when I first got my BC he'd nip constantly, hence my choice of forum name. Thank goodness we've bonded with each other and that has reduced the frequency of nips tremendously. Plus, my bird had a rough past and I think that shaped his personality.

The cockatiel was the noisiest in terms of constant chatter and whistles but it was mostly "happy" noise mixed in with some of those ear-piercing contact calls. My BC contact calls but it's quieter, less strident and not as often as other birds I think. I like how he greets me whenever I come back in my house. I have to go say hello and give him scratches.

BC re:nippiness. Everything would be fine, you'd be giving head scratches, then Suddenly "Squawk" and nip. Not happy with what I was doing, or hit a pinfeather wrong. Who knows? I will say my bird has very nice bite inhibition now, even the vet said as much on his last visit. So while he will get pissy and let you know, he's not drawn blood in a long time.

My two cents worth, bring home a bird that you feel drawn to and that shows interest in you. All breeds have pluses and minuses.

I have two GCC's and one BCC. My experience is the exact opposite of ConureFlock.
I got the BCC first. She is the most docile of the flock and prefers to be with people. She is the most cuddly and the least active.
The two GCC's are sister's. They are hand tame, but prefer to spend time with birds than with people. They will bully the BCC for food, etc.
The BCC and one of the GCC's went through a biting phase as they matured. I would say the BCC bites harder, but it's very close.
I think the GCC's are more active/entertaining, and my BCC calmer but smarter for training etc. BUT I think these are the individual birds I have and they don't represent the whole species 100%.
PS. The BCC came from a big box pet store. The GCC's came from a breeder.