Budgie

The budgie (budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus) is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot. Wild budgies average about 18 cm long, weigh 30-40 grams and have a wingspan of around 30 cm. They are light green with a yellow face and black, scalloped markings on the back and wings.

Pet budgies come in many colours, including blue, grey, white, yellow and violet, and some have small crests. Most pet shop budgies are blue, green or yellow. Exhibition budgies are about twice the size of wild ones, but most pet budgies are similar in size to wild birds.

They are popular pets around the world because of their small size, low cost and ability to mimic human speech.

Budgies come from Australia, where they live in the drier inland parts and have survived harsh conditions for over five million years. They are nomadic, moving in flocks as food and water change, and they can breed while on the move.

The budgie was first described in 1805 and given its current scientific name in 1840. DNA studies place it very close to the lories and the fig parrots. The origin of its name is unclear; one suggestion is an Aboriginal word, and another is that it means "good food".

Budgies have been bred in captivity since the 1850s. Breeders have produced many colour, pattern and feather mutations, and at least 32 primary colour mutations now exist.

Budgies are social, flock-living birds. They show affection by perching close, preening one another and feeding each other. They form long-term pair bonds, which is why they are sometimes nicknamed lovebirds. They need stimulation from toys and from company, whether human or other budgies.

Both sexes sing and can mimic sounds and words, but males are generally better at it. Males can learn from a few dozen to around a hundred words, while females rarely learn more than a dozen. Pet males kept alone are usually the best talkers.

Budgies chew wood and other materials, females especially. A threatened budgie perches as high as it can and holds its feathers tight to look thinner. Females tend to be more dominant than males and may act aggressively towards them.

Budgies in captivity live an average of about 7.8 years, though lifespans of 15-21 years have been reported. Lifespan depends on breed, lineage, health, exercise and diet. Large exhibition budgies live a shorter time, about seven to nine years.

Most health problems and physical abnormalities in budgies are genetic. Fatty tumours can occur. A diet made only of seeds can lead to fatty-liver disease. Parasites such as lice, mites and worms, and bacteria, fungi and viruses, spread between birds by direct or indirect contact. Mycobacteriosis and Macrorhabdus ornithogaster caused particularly high losses in one large zoo population.

Chicks can suffer from splay leg, which may be congenital or caused by malnutrition, and some have under-lapped beaks.

This is general awareness only, not veterinary advice. Always consult a vet about your pet's health.

How long do budgies live?

In captivity the average is about 7.8 years, and some live 15-21 years. Exhibition budgies live about seven to nine years.

Do budgies make good pets?

They are popular worldwide thanks to their small size, low cost and ability to mimic speech. They are social and enjoy toys and company. Young parent-raised birds can be readily tamed.

Can budgies talk?

Yes. Males are usually the better talkers, with vocabularies from a few dozen to about a hundred words. A budgie named Puck holds the record for the largest bird vocabulary, at 1,728 words.

Can you tell a male budgie from a female?

Young budgies look alike. Adults are told apart by cere colour and behaviour. The cere is usually blue in adult males, though some colour mutations keep a pink or purplish cere, and pale brownish-white to brown in females.

Can budgies pass illnesses to people?

Apart from a handful of illnesses, their diseases are not transmittable to humans. They have been known to cause bird fancier's lung, a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, in sensitive people.

Budgie feathers fluoresce under ultraviolet light, which may relate to courtship and mate choice. Budgies see four colour classes, and their throat spots reflect UV light.

Budgies are the third most popular pet in the world, after dogs and cats.

A female budgie can lay eggs without a male, though these will not hatch.

The budgie Disco became Internet famous in 2013 for phrases such as "Nobody puts baby bird in a corner!".

In Australia, tight swimming trunks are jokingly called "budgie smugglers", a phrase added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016.