Budgie
Budgie Pet Bird Profile
| Size | 7-9.4 inches (18-24 cm) |
| Origin | Australia |
| Color | Yellow, green, blue; multi-colored |
| Lifespan | 8-12 years |
| Personality | Clever, lively, trusting, curious, happy, not greedy, sociable |
| How to keep them | At least in pairs (one of each gender) |
| Hand-tame bird |  |
| Talking bird |  |
| Bird Noise | |
Characteristics
Budgerigars, or budgies, are very popular because they’re playful, cheerful, peaceful and undemanding. Watching them curiously explore their surroundings can be tremendous fun. They’re good at amusing themselves but are happy to be near their humans. They often become very trusting and hand-tame. That’s why they’re particularly popular among beginners.
Behavior
Do They Talk?
Yes! People often think that parrots are much more talented, but budgies are surprisingly good at learning speech and can even mimic whole sentences. The best evidence for this is in the Guinness Book of Records: “Oskar” was officially awarded the title “largest vocabulary for a bird” in September of 2010. He lives in Germany and can say 148 words. There was a budgerigar with a vocabulary of 1,728 words that has sadly now died.
Are They Noisy?
That’s a common question. On the one hand, people want their birds to talk and say funny words. On the other, they want them to quietly sit there and not disturb people. You can’t have both! So, you’ll have to live with a certain level of noise - or get yourself a robot pet.
Exercise
Budgies need a lot of exercise. This doesn’t mean just letting them out of their cage for half an hour every now and then, but several hours every day. The longer the better! Just like we humans like to “stretch our legs”, go for walks and enjoy movement, birds also want to stretch their wings and fly. A dedicated bird room, where the birds can fly around all day long, would be ideal. It can be a lot of fun lovingly designing a room like this and letting your creativity run free. The need to fly isn’t unique to budgies - all birds have it!
Appearance
Colors
Their natural color is light green and yellow with black stripes. Budgies also now come in many other colors, such as sky blue, white-blue, olive green and dark green.
Male or Female?
This is an easy one with budgies. Look at the beak: there is a waxy area called the “cere” above the beak of each bird. The male’s cere is blue, while the female’s is brown.
Food
Budgies don’t just eat seeds. They need fruit and vegetables to stay healthy. We recommend buying or borrowing a detailed guide before buying a budgie.
How to Keep Them
Cage size: at least 48 x 40 x 24 inches (150 x 100 x 80 cm) (W x H x D) for two animals
Budgies are not solitary animals. They need the company of their own kind and should therefore be kept in pairs at least (one male and one female). Imagine having to spend the rest of your life in the jungle with an orangutan. It might sound funny and exciting at first but you can’t have conversations so you’d get very lonely and sad. Or break something out of frustration and boredom. Budgies are much happier in groups of their own kind.
Fun Facts
Budgerigars come from Australia. There, they live in wide open spaces, e.g. sand dunes with grasses, bushland and savannas.
