Nanday conures are beautiful members of the conure family found in South America with feral populations in the US and Israel. They are jovial and good-natured birds ideal as a family pet, but their boisterousness makes it unsuitable as an apartment bird unless you have soundproofed its room. They are very outgoing and fun to be around because of their clown-like personality, an example of which is their tendency to fall asleep on their backs with their feet up in the air, a scene that can be quite perplexing the first time you see it. They have a fairly wellmimicking ability and can learn to talk reasonably well with proper training.Since they're highly intelligent, black-hooded parakeets require a fair amount of socialization and mental stimulation. Owners should plan to spend a few hours every day interacting with their bird because it will need sufficient time outside its cage.