Budgerigar (parakeet)-(budgie)
(Melopsittacus undulatus)
28.4504, -81.7294
Field Notes
Description:
•Budgie Birds belong to a large group of animals that have a backbone, called vertebrates. All birds are warm-blooded and they are born from eggs. The Budgerigars are small members of the parrot family.
•The name "budgerigar" (nicknamed "budgie" ) comes from the Australian Aboriginal word "betcherrygah", which means good food.
•The budgie are native to Australian mainland where they can be found living in huge flocks.
•The wild budgies are light green colour, with a yellow head. So they are hidden when they feed in grass.
•Today, there are hundreds of types of budgie. They can be divided into groups according to their colour and marking.
Habitat:
•Wild budgie live in the dry grasslands of Australia. They are nomadic birds, which means that they never settle in one place.
•They live in large groups, called flocks. A flock of budgies may have 20 birds, but if food or water is scarce, thousands of birds will join together.
•They eat wild grass seeds, eucalyptus leaves, and drink from desert pools in the cool early morning and evening.
•The nest is in a hole in a tree. A female budgie sit on her 4-6 eggs for 17-19 days to keep them warm. The male helps her look after the babies with the young fledging about 30 days after hatching.
Notes:
•Life cycle:
-1) A hen lays one egg every other day until there are between 4 and 6 eggs. The hen sits on the eggs for 17-19days to keep them warm.
-2)Baby birds, called chicks, breaks the shell. The mother feeds the chicks food from her mouth and they grow very quickly.
-3) A new chick is born every two days. The eggs hatch out in the same order as they were laid.
-4) At about 17 days old, the chicks start to develop their adult feathers. They are called fledglings.
At about 21 days old, downy feathers start to grow. Weak legs splay out sideways.
At about 23 days old, growing pinfeathers cover head.
At about 25 days old, all the fluffy feathers have grown.
At about 27-30 days old, the chick looks almost fully grown.
-5) At six weeks (42days), the chicks are ready to leave the nest and go to new homes. They can eat seeds by themselves. Black bars run down the forehead. The mask has clear spots.
-6) After 4 months, the budgie moults for the first time. The yellow forehead has no bars.
-7) After its first moult, a budgie is fully adult. When a hen is 5 months old, she can lay eggs of her own.
At six months old, a white ring develops in each eye, called an iris ring. The mask spots have grown larger.
The Budgies live an average of 5 to 8 years, but are sometimes reported to live to over 10 if well cared for.
Comments (4)