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A small gregarious Australian parakeet which is green with a yellow head in the wild. It is popular as a cage bird and has been bred in a variety of colours.
Melopsittacus undulatus, family Psittacidae
‘Why has my budgerigar started plucking out its feathers, and how can I stop it?’
‘There was, though, a happy outcome for the budgerigar, who survived the proceedings and has now found a home in Cumbernauld.’
‘The birds concerned include exotic tropical birds such as parrots, cockatoos, finches, budgerigars, hawks and falcons.’
‘However South came out blazing in the third quarter and made the Eagles feel a little like budgerigars.’
‘The show should only consist of budgerigars, canaries, zebra finches, Bengalese finches, pigeons and captive bred British birds.’
‘The decision came after one breeder in Middlesbrough lost his entire collection of more than 200 budgerigars, stock he had built up over many years.’
‘As the Core Team would rather see birds in the wild than in cages, I'm not going to discuss the budgerigar's fitness as an animal companion.’
‘Finches, canaries and budgerigars do not need as much attention from their people and so may be an option for those with busy life-styles.’
‘Also in residence are peacocks, budgerigars, chickens, iguanas, pigs, sheep, goats, a boa constrictor and a tarantula that was brought to the home by a businessman in a helicopter.’
‘Forebrain nuclei similar in structure and location have also been found in the budgerigar (an Australian parakeet).’
‘In the wild, said Arnold, budgerigars perform courtship displays in the early morning, when sunlight contains the highest proportion of UV light - the time when their feathers would glow the most brightly.’
‘Your budgerigars can also obtain exercise outside the cage while under your supervision - if they are hand-tamed to fly in a familiar, controlled room.’
‘Pupils at a primary school have a new classmate - a bright yellow budgerigar called Lucky.’
‘Nine of the 11 patients with chronic BFL disease raised budgerigars, and the remaining 2 patients bred pigeons.’
‘The probability that a pneumonic illness in a budgerigar owner is due to psittacosis increases when the patient says that a pet bird has recently died.’
‘Hundreds of fine feathered budgerigars flocked to the city to help celebrate a major milestone in the York and District Budgerigar Society's history.’
‘When a clutch of four budgerigar chicks hatched out one sunny September day in 1999, it was a happy occasion for their breeder.’
‘It's a little bit bigger than a budgerigar and about the same size as a lorikeet.’
‘The first step in ensuring that your budgerigars get sufficient exercise is to house them in an appropriately sized cage.’
‘To determine whether fluorescent feathers were indeed more appealing, Arnold and her colleagues applied sunscreen lotion to the crown feathers of male and female budgerigars.’
Origin
Mid 19th century: of Aboriginal origin, perhaps an alteration of Kamilaroi gijirrigaa (also in related languages).