The Budgerigars are beautiful creature that comes in myriads of vibrant colors. The different colors and patterns of budgies are due to careful and strategic breeding of this bird. This bird has been the popular option for pet birds throughout the world because of easy availability of this bird. But mostly this bird is found in the wild jungles of Australia.
If you have a love for birds, budgie can add aesthetic beauty to your house. These birds of rainbow colors are not much demanding and are easy to care. They are social in nature with charming personality which will definitely fill your home environment with positivity. Another name for this bird is parakeet and it is considered as sub-specie of parrot.
The budgies can be easily identified as male or female. The males have blue nose and females have red nose. It is highly recommended to keep the captive birds in pairs so that they don’t feel lonely. The budgies are vociferous in nature. They have loud but sweet voice. In the wild this bird is predator to many creatures. Human beings hunt the birds for its colorful feather or to keep it in captivity.
Budgerigar History
The budgies are a million years old birds. They came on earth before human beings. These birds are especially native to Australia. The earliest documented description of this bird was provided by George Shaw, an English zoologist and botanist.
The first captive breeding of this bird was made in 1850s. This eventually gave rise to myriads of different colors and combination of birds. In the 20th century people started keeping this bird in their house. Even today, they are one of the most sought after pet birds.
Budgerigar Facts & Characteristics
- The budgie belongs to Australia but it is a popular pet all over the world. In America it comes second in popularity after cockatiel
- The Latin meaning of its name means “song bird with wavy lines”
- Not all budgies are easy to train some get mischievous at every opportunity. A good natured budgie is a treat to house
- Budgie sounds as if it is rapping. Sometime owners may not realize that the bird is talking with them
- The color mutation of budgie is split into two categories- White-based mutations and yellow-based mutations
- Budgies mate whenever there is ample amount of food to access upon. In Australia they breed between June and September which is a period of rainfall
- It might surprise you that budgies are monogamous. They stick to one partner all their life and show affection and care to them
- Budgies are primary vegetarian but in the wild they may feed upon small insects
- The lifespan of this bird is up to 10-15 years
- Budgies are 7 inches in length
- It weighs around 1.1 and 1.4 ounces.
Budgerigar Appearance
An adult budgie has yellow color face with purple patches on both sides of its cheeks. Small budgies face is covered with black stripes from head to nose. You can see black spot on its throat.
- Legs - Budgies have unique toes. The second and third toes face forward while first and fourth toes face backwards. This kind of structure of its legs helps them to climb and perch comfortably. The colors of its legs are bluish grey or olive grey.
- Beak - The budgies have strong, solid and smooth upper bear. The upper beak is larger than lower beak which covers its entire lower portion. Budgie can close its beak firmly which enables it to grip food or any other material firmly.
- Nose - The male budgies have blue color nose and female budgies have pink color nose. Female budgies which have been not bred have brown color nose.
- Plumage - Budgies have glowing feathers which shine in UV light. Their feathers contain natural oil which doesn’t allow moisture to settle on it. This keeps the budgie from being weighed down. Budgies shed their feathers from time to time which maintain the overall balance of its feathers. The tail of the bird is blue in color. You can also see yellow color in its tail when the bird stretches or takes flight.
Vision
Budgie vision is tetra chromatic which means their eyes color space is four dimensional unlike humans that have 3 dimensional color space. In simple words, budgie can see colors in Ultraviolet spectrum.
Behavior Of Budgie In Wild
Budgie has a playful and curious personality. They like to explore places and things with flocks. They have pack mentality which means they are happiest when they have company of other budgies. In wild budgies follow a nomadic lifestyle. They go with their flocks where there is availability of food and water. Budgies communicate with other budgies by warbling. Wild budgies are smaller than budgies kept in captivity.
Behavior Of Budgie In Captivity
Budgie is a fascinating pet for home. It is advisable to purchase the bird in pairs. Too many budgies shouldn’t be kept in single cage because they can fight among themselves. Captive budgies have more fluffy appearance which makes their eyes and beak smaller in appearance. In your free time you can teach your budgie to mimic certain words or phrases.
Lifespan
Budgies can live on an average 10-15 years.
Health Issues
Ailments faced by budgies are
- Splay legs- This cause one leg of the bird to bent outward because of accidental slip and slide.
- Bumblefoot- This is categorized by inflammation or infection on budgies feet. If left untreated it can cause ulcers.
- Scaly Face and Scaly Leg- The birds face, legs or beak get affected by mites who build up tine holes on its surface. This can be cured by Dettol.
- Psittacosis- Another name for this ailment is “parrot fever”. It is highly contagious and can transmit to humans as well.
- Feather Plucking- Budgies pluck their own feather when they are in depression or lonely. Toys or another budgie can alleviate this problem.
Feeding
Budgies are vegetarian. They eat vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and legumes. You should never give your budgie food items which contain lactose and other food items like chocolate, garlic, onion, lemon and potato.
Grooming
Grooming the budgie will mitigate many of its health problems. You are supposed to clip budgie’s nails whenever it grows longer otherwise this will enable them to scratch any humans or themselves accidentally. You can also trim its feathers. It's comparable to trimming human hair. Occasionally bath your budgie so that it doesn’t catch any allergy or fungal infection. It is important to keep its cage clean and tidy.
Predators
The main predators of budgies are snakes and birds of prey like eagle and hawks. Humans being also kill budgies for its beautiful feathers.
Habitat
This bird has its roots in Australia but it is widespread in other parts of the world too. It can be mostly seen in open woodland, farmland and areas with eucalyptus and acacia trees.
Budgerigar Breeding
Budgies are opportunistic breeder which means they usually breed in the rainy season when there is ample amount of food and water for them. Unlike other birds they do not built nest rather they lay eggs in tree’s hole and log.
When the female budgie is about to hatch eggs, its beak changes its color to brown. Female budgie generally lays 4-6 eggs. It lays one egg after every two days. The eggs are 1-2cm in length and are of white color. Mother has to incubate its eggs for 18-21 days. During this period, male budgie helps its partner by feeding and caring for it.
Development
- Budgies are born blind and feather less. They are highly dependent upon mother for warmth and food.
- Within 10 days, they start opening their eyes and feathers develop on their body. As the day’s passes, they become less dependent upon mother.
- Around third week, they develop real feathers and till fifth week, they start stretching their feathers which makes their feathers strong.
- As the time passes, baby budgies become more and more strong and self-sufficient. They also start to scare their predators by making screeching sound. Now parents can leave their nest for a longer period of time. When the babies’ wings become strong enough they take their first flight.