Budgerigar

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The Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus, nicknamed budgie), the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus, is a small parrot belonging to the tribe of the broad-tailed parrots (Platycercini); these are sometimes considered a subfamily (Platycercinae). Though budgerigars are often called parakeets, especially in American English, this term refers to any of a number of small parrots with long flat tails. The budgerigar is found throughout the drier parts of Australia and has survived in the inlands of that continent for over 5 million years.[2]


Male Budgerigar of natural coloration

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Platycercini
Genus: Melopsittacus
Species: M. undulatus
Binomial name
Melopsittacus undulatus

Characteristics

Appearance
Budgerigars are about 18 cm long and weigh 30-40 grams. 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 (called the "necklace") 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. Bill olive grey and legs greyish blue, with zygodactyl toes.[5] Wild budgerigars are noticeably smaller than those in captivity. These parrots have been bred in many other colours in captivity, such as white, blue, and even purple, although they are mostly found in pet stores in blue, green and seldomly white.
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 genders (usually of a more even purplish-pink colour in young males). Young females can often be identified by a subtle chalky whiteness that starts around the cere nostril holes. Males that are albinos, lutinos or recessive pieds usually retain the immature purplish-pink cere color their entire life. [6][5]


Female white budgerigar. This is not an albino because it lacks the red eyes.

Colour Mutations
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:
1. Albinism, in which eumelanin (dark pigment) is reduced in all body tissues & structures. It may be complete (a complete absence of eumelanin) or partial (an incomplete reduction in the amount of eumelanin).
2. Dilutism, in which eumelanin incompletely reduced, almost exclusively in feathering.
3. Leucism, in which all pigmentation is reduced, almost exclusively in feathering.
4. Melanism, in which eumelanin is increased virtually only in feathering.

Each of these mutations is inherited in via one of the following dominance relationships:
 Autosomal co-cominant
 Autosomal complete dominant
 Autosomal incomplete dominant
 Autosomal recessive
 Autosomal polygenic
 Sex-linked recessive

Because birds have a ZW sex-determination system, sex-linked recessive phenotypes are more common in females than in males, rather than the reverse as is found the more familiar XY determination of humans.


Adult females (left above) have pink to brown ceres while adult males (right above) have blue ceres.

Personality
Budgerigars are, very generally speaking, accepting of humans and other birds, but should never be housed with a bird other than another budgerigar. Care should be taken even when placing two budgies together, as they can do serious harm to one another if they do not get along. They are relatively easily tamed.

Habitat and behaviour
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.[5] Drought can drive flocks into more wooded habitat or coastal areas. They feed on the seeds of spinifex, grass weeds, and sometimes ripening wheat. [7][5].
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. Colder than normal winter temperatures in some years and increased competition from European Starlings are the main reasons for the declining population.[8]
Breeding takes place generally between June and September in the North and between August and January in the South but they are opportunistic breeders responding to the rains when grass seeds become most abundant.[5] Populations in some areas have increased as a result of increased water availability at farms. The nest is in a hole in a tree, fence post or even a log laying on the ground; the 4-6 eggs are incubated for 17-19 days, with the young fledging about 30 days after hatching.[7][5]
Both male and female budgerigars sing and can learn to mimic sounds, although both singing and mimicry are more pronounced in males.

Captivity
The budgerigar is one of the few parrots to be domesticated as a pet. Believed to be the most common pet parrot in the world, it has been bred in captivity since the 1850s. Breeders have worked over the decades to produce a wide range of colour and feather mutations, such as yellow, blue, white, violet, olive, albino and lutino (yellow), clearwing and spangled. Feather mutations can produce crests or overly long shaggy feathers known as "feather dusters".

Modern show budgerigars, also called English budgerigars, are larger than their wild cousins, with puffy head feathers, giving them an exaggerated look. The eyes and beak can be almost totally obscured by feathers. Such birds are reported to be more prone to genetic mutations because of inbreeding. Most budgerigars in the pet trade are not of the show variety and are similar in size and body conformation to wild budgerigars.

Budgerigars can be taught to speak, whistle tunes, and play with humans. They 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.

In captivity, budgerigars live an average of five to eight years, but are reported to occasionally live to 15 if well cared for [9]. 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.

Although wild budgerigars eat grass seeds almost exclusively, avian veterinarians recommend supplementation with foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, pasta, whole wheat 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 and avocado are recognized as potential toxins.[10] Plums, lemons, limes, and members of the cabbage family are bad for them as well. Recommended fruits and vegetables are apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, carrots, unsprayed lettuces, parsley, peaches and spinach.[1]

continued

__________________
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Mollie Mae-pigeon-DOH 06/98
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PM: cfulhage
Email: cfulhage@parrotchatter.com

Breeding
Budgie's are a very easy bird to breed. In the wild, they require a hollow tree or a hollow log, but domesticated birds use breeding boxes. A hen will lay her eggs on alternate days, after the first one, there's usually a two-day gap until the next. She will lay any ammount of eggs from four to twelve. She will incubate the eggs for seventeen to twenty days. When the eggs start to hatch, the hatchlings are usually quite helpless. For the first week, the hatchling won't be too energetic. During the second week, the hatchling's eyes will open, and it will start to develop feather down. After three weeks, the hatchling will develop feathers of its genetic colour. This may take longer than expecting, due to parental difficulties (The parents may pluck the feathers). In the fifth week, the parents will be in and out of the box, because the babies are getting bigger, and are stretching their wings to gain strength in them before they go out of the box to fly. If the family of budgies have had fights in the past over the nest box, if another budgie comes to the hole and peers in, the babies will defend the box as well as the parents. As the babies start to emerge from the box, difficulty may occur. Some of the other birds may try and fight them (Maybe even their own parents), but there is nothing you can do. After the eighth week, the eldest baby should be eating by themself and flying by themself. This process will occur for the other babies.


A blue male budgerigar

Breeding Difficulties
There may be some breeding difficulties during the breeding season. The babies may die in their first day, due to unknown reasons, or the parent/mother will attack it. Other families will try to attack the hen whilst she is laying her eggs. This is because of jealousy. Probably because that bird wants that nest box. Other difficulties could be in-breeding, where two siblings, or family members breed and have mutated babies. These are usually just colour mutations, or sometimes, the birds feathers grow too long and it becomes a "Feather Duster". That bird won't live very long because the feathers will continue to grow, and the bird may lack the vitamins to grow the feathers. Another problem may be the birds' beak is underlapped. This is where the lower mandible is above the upper mandible. This occurs from the feeding strategies of the parents.

Human speech
In 2001, budgie owner Ryan B. Reynolds of Ontario, Canada received much publicity due to his release to the press of certain recordings of his talking budgie, Victor. In these recordings, Victor performed what appeared to be "speaking in context". To the layperson, the recordings appeared to audibly demonstrate that Victor was able to use his 1000+ word vocabulary to express coherent lines of thought, meaning and reasoning. Despite the widespread TV, newspaper and radio publicity the recordings received in 2001, the recordings have yet to be scientifically analysed.[11].
A budgerigar named Puck holds the world record for the largest vocabulary of any bird, at 1,728 words. Puck, owned by American Camille Jordan, died in 1994, with the record first appearing in the 1995 edition of Guinness World Records. [12] [13]


Budgerigar hen

References
1. BirdLife International (2004). Melopsittacus undulatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
2. Dr. Marshall's Philosophy on Breeding Exhibition Budgerigars. Bird Health (2004). Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
3. Online etymology dictionary
4. A Reference Dictionary of Gamilaraay
5. a b c d e f Forshaw, Joseph Michael; William T. Cooper (1973 & 1981). Parrots of the World, 1st and 2nd. ISBN 0-87666-959-3.
6. Birds Online - How to tell the sex of a budgie. Retrieved on 25 April 2006.
7. a b The Wild Budgerigar (article). Retrieved on 25 April 2006.
8. Pranty, Bill (n.d.). Budgerigar: Melopsittacus undulatus. Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
9. Birds Online - Life span of a budgie. Retrieved on 26 December 2005.
10. Margaret A. Wissman, D.V.M., D.A.B.V.P.. Medical Conditions and Diseases of the Budgerigar and Cockatiel (article). ExoticPetVet.Net. Retrieved on 26 April 2006.
11. Elvira Cordileone (2006). Are Birds Trying to Tell Us Things? (article). Toronto Star. Retrieved on 7 May 2006. publication date: 23 Mar. 2006
12. Claire Folkard (ed.): Guiness World Records 2004. Guinness World Records Limited, p. 54. ISBN 085112-180-2.
13. The Bird with the Largest Vocabulary in the World. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.

External links
 A True Ambassador: the Budgerigar Referenced article on budgerigars
 List of Plants & Branches Hazardous to Birds Referenced list oriented toward pet birds

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