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Budgerigar
Melopsittacus undulatus
23.4241, 53.8478
Field Notes
Description:
The Budgerigar ( /ˈbʌdʒərɪɡɑr/), also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus), informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus. Wild budgerigars are found throughout the drier parts of Australia, where the species has survived harsh inland conditions for the last five million years. Naturally green and yellow with black, scalloped markings on the nape, back, and wings, breeders have created a rainbow of blues, whites, and yellows, greys, and even forms with small crests. Budgerigars are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, ability to mimic human speech and playful nature.
The budgerigar is closely related to the lories and the fig parrots. Although budgerigars are often, especially in American English, called parakeets, this term refers to any of a number of small parrots with long, flat tails.
Habitat:
Budgerigars are nomadic birds found in open habitats, primarily in scrubland, open woodland, and grassland of Australia. 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. Drought can drive flocks into more wooded habitat or coastal areas. They feed on the seeds of spinifex, grass weeds, and sometimes ripening wheat.
Naturalised feral budgerigars have been recorded since the 1940s in the St. Petersburg, Florida, area of the United States, but are much less common now than they were in the early 1980s. Increased competition from European Starlings and House Sparrows is thought to be the primary cause of the population decline.
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