Budgerigar aka "Budgie"

he Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus, nicknamed budgie), is a small parrot belonging to the tribe Melopsittacini.
Though budgerigars are often called parakeets, especially in American English, this term also refers to any of a number of small parrots with long flat tails. The budgerigar is found throughout the interior, drier parts of Australia and has survived in the inlands of that continent for over 5 million years. The name "Budgerigars" is derived from Australian aboriginal term: "Betcherrygah", which basically means "good to eat"; it was then abbreviated to "budgie" -- which has become the common name of this small parrot.

Budgies as Pets

The Budgie is one of the most loved parrots around the world. They are smart, affectionate, and beautiful. The Budgie can make a wonderful addition to any home. The Budgerigar comes in a wide spectrum of color variations and many varieties,
Budgerigars can be taught to speak and whistle tunes. In fact, they are believed to be the best talkers of all birds. They can learn to pronounce hundreds of words and phrases. In fact, one California budgie is said to have had a vocabulary of 1,728 words by the time he died in January 1994. Another budgie called "Sparky Williams" had a repertoire of 8 nursery rhymes, 360 phrases, and a vocabulary of over 550 words. In fact, this little budgie became a star and 20,000 copies of his records were sold by the time he died in 1962.
They are intelligent and social animals and enjoy the stimulation of toys and interaction with humans as well as with other budgerigars. A common behavior is the chewing of material such as wood, especially for female budgerigars.
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 the common budgerigars) and the individual bird's health, which is influenced by exercise and diet.
These little jewels are thoroughly under-priced and therefore under-appreciated. They are often kept in tiny, boring cages that don't allow them to get sufficient excercise and play, as they like to do. A cage should be accommodate several perches and toys, food and water dishes -- in addition to leaving space for the budgie to fly from perch to perch.

• This webpage has a variety of suitable cages for them.

Budgies are quite entertaining, not as cuddly though as say a cockatoo or lovebird. But nonetheless, they make great "starter pets":
Budgies are often given to kids as pets and neglected once the "novelty" wears off. Thousands of them starve to death or die from dehydration caused by empty water dishes. I strongly believe that if YOU don't like birds, please don't give one to your child as a pet, since in the end there is an excellent chance that you will end up as the primary caretaker. However, if you enjoy animals and love interacting and watching them - you are likely to form a wonderful relationship with one or two of these special little characters.

Training:

• Web Resources: Budgies are relatively easy to train and this website will provide valuable tips on parrot behavior and training.
• Instructional DVDS:
  • If you are, as I am, a visual learner and prefer step-by-step instructions to train your pet, I recommend the following Cockatiel / Parakeet Training Course to teach your parrot to:
    • Stop Biting
    • Perform Tricks &
    • Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own
  • and/or try the "Teach Your Parrot to Talk" Training Course. 
  • Physical Description:

    Budgies are generally green in nature, but breeders have produced them in myriad colors and shades, from white to turquoise to periwinkle. You can even find budgies that have a crest or curly feathers.

    Size:

    Length: ~ 7 - 7.2 inches (~18 cm long)
    Weight: ~ 0.9 - 2.1 oz (~25 - 60 grams). Most of them weigh between 0.9 - 1.3 oz (25 - 36 grams.)
    Note: Bird weight is an important indicator of good health or health problems (please click here for diseases associated with weight gain or weight loss). Monitoring your pet's weight regularly, establishing a healthy base weight and keeping an eye on changes are recommended as part of their general care regiment. Your vet should be alerted to any weight deviations that are not in line with natural weight fluctuations.

    Plumage:

    Wild budgerigars have green underparts and rumps, while the upperparts are barred with black and 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 and a series of black spots across the throat. The tail is greenish blue or purple; outside tail feathers have a central yellow band. Their wings have greenish-black flight feathers and black coverts with yellow fringes.

    Legs:

    Greyish blue, with zygodactyl toes.

    
    

    Adult males usually have dark blue ceres.	Mature females have tan to brown ceres.

    
    
    Identifying Gender and Approximate Age:
    The color of the cere (the fleshy part above the beak) differs between the sexes and also changes as budgies get older or are indicators of the breeding condition they are:
    

    Cere:

    Adult Males (8 months +):
    

    Breeding Male: Blue or purplish blue cere for normal varieties and bright violet or pink for recessive pieds, lutinos / albinos, dark-eyed clear, lacewings or fallow mutations.
    Non-breeding Males: Pale-brown or Pink Cere

    Adult Females (8 months +):
    

    Breeding Female: Brown Cere
    Non-breeding Females: White or Light Blue Cere

    Young Budgies:
    

    The cere is pink in both genders - however, immature males may show a purplish-pink hue. It is very difficult to sex budgies that are younger than 8 months because the cere has a tendency to change color.

    Plumage:

    Applies to normal color varieties only ... Budgies that are younger than 4 months will have a full head of cap feathers that are barred all the way down to the cere. At three to four months of age, the budgie will go through its first molt, and these cap feathers will be replaced by clear, non-barred feathers.
    This does not apply for the color varieties Lutino/Albino and Recessive Pieds.

    Behavior:

    Males tend to be more vocal than females and have more variety in their songs. Females may be more aggressive than males. Males are often more active and outgoing.

    Eyes:

    • Young budgies (up to 4 months old) have all black eyes.
    • Budgies ranging from 4-6 months have dark grey irides (= plural of iris).
    • Budgies ranging from 6-8 months have light grey irides
    • Budgies ranging from 8 months and older have all-white irides.

    NOTE: Exceptions to the above would be lutinos, albinos and recessive pieds. Dominant and recessive traits are also influence the color of the iris rings.

    
    
    
    The below photos and information is courtesy of Ahmad, contact: tome.911 (at) hotmail.com - from Egypt

    There are three kinds of eyes for parakeets.
    Red Eyes: Yellow or white parakeets (albinos) have red eyes.
    Black Eyes: The eyes are dark and the pupils are all black (photos 2 and 3).
    Sunny Eyes: As can be seen in photos 1 and 4.
    The eye has a black pupil and a white circle surrounding it.
    In Ahmed's aviary an anomaly occurred: one budgie with one black and one "sunny" eye.
    Please refer to photos 5 and 6 -- this is the same parakeet.