A compound of budgery, "good" and gar "Cockatoo". This is supported by the Oxford English Dictionary. The word budgery itself, also spelt boojery, was formerly in use in Australian English slang meaning "good".
An alteration of Gamilaraay gidjirrigaa, possibly influenced by the slang word budgery mentioned above. This is supported by the American Heritage Dictionary.
The genus name Melopsittacus comes from Greek and means "melodious parrot". The species name undulatus is Latin for "undulated" or "wave-patterned".
Budgerigars are about 18 cm (7 in) long and weigh 30-40 grams. Wild Budgerigars display a green body color (abdomen and rumps), while their mantle (back and wing coverts) is black edged in yellow. The forehead and face is yellow in adults, and barred black with yellow in young till they change into their adult plumage at 3-4 months of age. Each cheek has a small dark purple patch (cheek patches) and a series of 3 black spots across each sides of their throats (throat-spots) of which the outermost spots are situated at the base of each cheek-patches. The tail is cobalt (dark-blue); outside tail feathers display central yellow flashes. Their wings have greenish-black flight feathers and black coverts with yellow fringes along with central yellow flashes which only becomes visible in flight and/or when the wings are stretched. Bill olive grey and legs blueish-grey, with zygodactyl toes. Wild budgerigars are noticeably smaller than those in captivity. These parrots have been bred in many other colors in captivity, such as white, blue, and even purple, although they are mostly found in pet stores in blue, green, yellow and occasionally white. Budgerigar plumage is known to fluoresce under ultraviolet light, a phenomenon possibly related to courtship and mate selection.
The colour of the cere (the area containing the nostrils) differs between the sexes; royal blue in males, pale-brown to white (non-breeding) or brown (breeding) in females and pink in immatures of both sexes (usually of a more even purplish-pink color in young males).Some female budgies develop brown cere only during breeding time and later disappears. Young females can often be identified by a subtle chalky whiteness that starts around the cere nostril holes. Males that are either albino, lutino and/or recessive pied (aka Danishpied aka Harlequin) always retain the immature purplish-pink cere colour their entire life.
There are presently at least 32 primary mutations in the Budgerigar, enabling hundreds of possible secondary mutations (stable combined primary mutations) & colour varieties (unstable combined mutations). Each of these primary mutations falls into one of four basic groups:
* Albinism : where eumelanin is either partially or completely reduced in all body tissues & structures.
* Dilution : where eumelanin is partially reduced in only feathering.
* Leucism : where eumelanin is completely reduced from total or localized feathering.
* Melanism : where eumelanin is increased in the feathering.
Each of these mutations is inherited via one of the following dominance relationships:
* Autosomal co-dominant
* Autosomal complete dominant
* Autosomal incomplete dominant
* Autosomal recessive
* Autosomal polygenic
* Sex-linked recessive
Because birds have a ZW sex-determination system, sex-linked recessive traits are more common in females than in males, rather than the reverse as is found the more familiar XY determination of humans and other mammals.
Care should be taken when placing several female budgies together, as they can do serious harm to one another if they do not get along. It is easier and often more convenient to keep either an even number of both males and females or to only keep male birds altogether as these generally get along with each other without any problem. They are relatively easily tamed.
Bird lovers often comment on the differences in personality in each individual bird. Budgerigars each have their own unique ideas about how much they like to be handled, which toys are their favourites, and even what music they like or are indifferent to.
Like many birds, budgerigars have tetrachromatic color vision, but all four classes of cone cells operating simultaneously require the full spectrum provided by sunlight. Additionally, budgies have been known to see in the ultra-violet spectrum, which brightens up their feathers to attract mates. The throat markings in budgies have been most notable for reflecting UVs.
Budgerigars are nomadic birds found in open habitats, primarily in Australian scrubland, open woodland and grassland. The birds are normally found in small flocks, but can form very large flocks under favourable conditions. The species is extremely nomadic and the movement of the flocks is tied to the availability of food and water. Drought can drive flocks into more wooded habitat or coastal areas. They feed on the seeds of spinifex, grass weeds, and sometimes ripening wheat.
The wild budgerigar has evolved alongside the Eucalyptus tree and over a million years has developed an intimate bond with the tree and its leaves. Wet eucalyptus leaves excite and invigorate both the wild and aviary budgerigar into a frenzy of joy. They love to bathe in the wet leaves and breeding hens destructively chew the bark. The eucalyptus oil from the leaves has medicinal properties that stimulate the immune system and promote a strong natural resistance to disease.
Feral birds have been found since the 1940s in the St. Petersburg, Florida area of the United States, but are much less common than they were in the early 1980s. Increased competition from European Starlings and House Sparrows is thought to be primary cause of the population decline (Pranty 2001).
Budgerigars keep themselves clean by preening. They do it very often to remove dirt and dust from their feathers which are important for flight. Budgerigars show signs of affection to their friends by preening or feeding one another. They help clean each others hard-to-reach spots. Budgerigars feed one another by eating the seeds themselves, and then regurgitating it into their friend?s mouth.
When budgies sleep, they often fluff up their feathers, trapping in warm air, and making themselves cozy.
The Budgerigar is one of the two Parrots to be genuinely domesticated as a species along with the Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis). It is widely acknowledged as the most common pet Parrot in the world and possibly the most common cage bird. The Budgerigar has been bred in captivity since the 1850s. Breeders have worked over the decades to produce a wide range of colour, pattern and feather mutations, such as blue, white, violet, olive, albino and lutino (yellow), pied, clearwing, spangled, and crested.
Modern show budgerigars, also called English budgerigars and/or Standard-Type Budgerigars are larger than their wild-type (natural form) counterparts, with puffy head feathers, giving them an exaggerated look. The eyes and beak can be almost totally obscured by feathers. Most Budgerigars in the pet trade are not of the show variety (Standard-Type aka English Budgies) and are similar in size and body conformation to wild Budgerigars and thus aptly called wild-type Budgies.
Budgerigars are intelligent and social animals and enjoy the stimulation of toys and interaction with humans as well as with other Budgerigars. A common behaviour is the chewing of material such as wood, especially for female Budgerigars.
Budgerigars can be taught to speak, whistle tunes, and play with humans. Both males and females sing and can learn to mimic sounds & words. Both singing and mimicry are more pronounced and much more perfected in males. As a whole, females rarely if ever learn to mimic more than a dozen words or so. Males can very easily acquire vocabularies ranging between a few dozen to a hundred words. Generally speaking, it is the pet Budgies and even more so the ones kept as single pets which talk the best and the most.
In captivity, Budgerigars live an average of five to eight years, but are reported to occasionally live to 15 if well cared for. The life span depends on the budgerigar's breed (show Budgerigars typically do not live as long as wild-type Budgerigars) and on the individual bird's health, which is highly influenced by exercise and diet.
Budgerigars have been shown to cause "bird fancier's lung in their handlers, a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Female parakeets love to chew on anything they can find in their cage, which comes from their instinct to build nests for their eggs. Since in captivity parakeets don?t have as many things to gnaw on as they do in the wild, cuttlebone is often placed in their cages to help them keep their beaks clean and trimmed.
Although wild Budgerigars eat grass seeds almost exclusively, avian veterinarians recommend captive birds' diets be supplemented with foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, pasta, whole grain bread and other healthy human foods, as well as pellets formulated for small parrots. Adding these foods provides additional nutrients and can prevent obesity and lipomas, as can substituting millet, which is relatively low in fat, for seeds mixes. Budgerigars do not always adapt readily to dietary additions, however. Chocolate, alcohol, rhubarb (including the leaves) and avocado are recognized as potential toxins.
