If the boyfriend is already not pre-disposed to like them because of noise, conures are among the noisiest. They squawk -- loudly. My ex had one. It didn't talk, and it only squawked ... nothing 'pleasant' at all.
It can be on a patio but you'll have to bring it in if it gets at all cool -- *topical* being the watchword there -- and no where on the US mainland would be THAT 'topical' all year round. But then it is also "prey" to any animal that wants to get in or bugs of any sort or variety. It wouldn't be MY way to keep a bird outside like that -- they can get mites and other unpleasant things.
Also -- if you live in any sort of habitable area -- your neighbors may grow to absolutely hate you for an 'outside' bird. If it rants all hours you can become incredibly unpopular, and they WILL scream if they are bored, or lonely. If this bird is used to being inside and used to being with people (or it was initially and has been 'banished' because no one in the house has time for it) it can be a long lonely life for them.
Birds aren't normally a problem for allergy sufferers -- that *might* be an excuse.
SOME birds start up when the sun rises and go until all the lights go off at night (unless you cover and uncover them and then they are without stimulation at all.
Birds really need socialization -- it's too bad he won't try to actually place this bird with someone who WANTS a conure. There are people who do bird rescue just like dog rescue.
For someone inclined to try to bond to a degree with the bird and keep company with it, they can be really pleasant. But "adopting" a bird can be difficult -- their habits don't tend to change (at least in MY experience). A bird that hasn't been handled may not ever take to being handled. Some of them are nice .. some of them aren't.
The conure my ex had was exactly that -- green/sun conure. His name was Torii -- and when he was a fledgling my ex trained him so he was people-friendly, would come and go from his cage as he wanted. The door was left open and he'd just climb down when he wanted to 'see' us and go find us. I had a small pom/peke mix at the time and it really wasn't long before the two kept company quite a lot of time -- he respected her teeth, she respected his beak -- but it wasn't unusual to see Prissy walk thru the apartment and see Torii follow in her wake.
If he didn't want to go to 'bed' when we went upstairs, he was known to just climb down from his cage, climb the carpeting on the stairs and come and 'find' us.
Noisey as heck. but very social.
Torii only lived to be about 10 which is unusual for conures -- they are a parrot-type bird (hook bill) and may live a LONG life. But it's hard to tell when a bird is ill -- particularly if you aren't experienced. The next bird my ex 'rescued' was a Quaker parrot -- he was a talker, but not at all 'social' (he bit) ... and was one of those birds who screamed when the sun came up til it went down unless you kept him occupied by talking to him. I was glad my ex took him when we parted.
But the dogs I had at that time weren't tolerant and I didn't trust them -- they were kept 100% COMPLETELY separate (meaning the dogs were never **EVER** allowed access to the room where the bird was -- not for even one minute, because even a small dog can jump and terrify a bird and give them a heart attack. They don't have to lay teeth on them to kill them!
After David and I were married HE wanted a bird and we adopted a little cockatiel. He was THE sweetest bird I've ever known. Incredibly sweet, never bit, loved to cuddle and again altho he was unafraid of the dogs, I never gave them access while we weren't around.
He was badly bred -- he didn't live long (only about 18 months) -- and actually died of renal failure. We were heartbroken and eventually got another cockatiel, Hootie.
Again, a wide HUGE personality difference -- Hootie learned to speak but is absolutely NOT musical at all. IN fact, that poor thing is completely musically impaired -- he couldn't carry a tune in a 10 gallon bucket.
But -- he wants to be "with". ALL the time. And frankly, the dogs are as good as the humans are to Hootie's mind.
He's never ever out of his cage -- He was never trained as 'hand-fed' and he bites horribly. He won't 'come' and generally just prefers his cage.
BUT SHOCKAROONIE -- his cage is on TOP of two of the dog's crates!! They all like it that way. He's company for them (and yeah, he talks to them strange as that seems) and as far as they're concerned he's just part of the pack.
Now he's never ever allowed to be nose to nose with them, and they know not to jump up on him (and they aren't allowed access to that room when we aren't present). We had him in another room during the day and this actually works FAR better. He's with us at night while we sleep and if he gets noisy in the mornings (rare) we cover him partly and he chills.
Sorry for the life history -- but I had NEVER had birds before and I never in a million years knew they could have such widely diverse personalities. TONS depends on how this bird was trained as a baby. Has he been handled? DO THEY CONTINUE TO HANDLE HIM?
Don't just let this guy say "Oh yeah ...". Make him SHOW you if you are strongly considering it. The bird may be a one person bird. The bird may have been hand-fed years ago but not now.
But be prepared -- they are extremely social -- I've never met a bird yet who really didn't want to be 'around' either other birds or humans.
There ARE bird boards just like there are dog boards. But from what you're saying it almost sounds like this guy thinks it would be 'easy' to place this bird with you. And that may not be the kindest thing on the planet.
Be prepared -- they live many many years -- even a cockatiel usually lives over 15 years, and bigger birds live up to 75 years. It *should* be a lifetime commitment. Does that make sense?
If you want to email me, and let me know where you are located, I have a friend who does bird rescue and she might know someone near you. I'd be more than willing to ask her.