CC BY 2.0 · Richard.Fisher / MPF (derivative work) · source
Quick Facts
- Type
- Bird
- Size
- 18 cm body length
- Weight
- 30–40 g
- Habitat
- Grassland, plain, and scrubland in Australia; homes worldwide
- Diet
- Herbivore — seeds, fruit, leafy plants
- Active Time
- Diurnal, active during the day
- Lifespan
- 5–10 years
Field Notes
- A budgerigar named Puck holds the Guinness record for largest vocabulary of any bird at over 1,700 words.
- In the wild, budgerigar flocks can number in the millions, moving across Australia's interior following rain.
- Budgerigars can see into the ultraviolet spectrum — their plumage patterns are far more vivid to their own eyes than to ours.
About the Budgerigar
The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), or 'budgie', is a small parakeet native to the dry interior of Australia, where vast flocks follow rainfall across grassland and scrubland. In the wild they are nomadic, moving with seed availability. Introduced to Europe in 1840 by naturalist John Gould, they quickly became one of the world's most popular cage birds. Budgerigars are gifted mimics — the record for words learned by a budgie stands at over 1,700. They are highly social and show signs of empathy, yawning 'contagiously' when cagemates yawn.
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