Twenty facts about Budgerigars

Budgericar

1. The Budgerigar or Common Pet Parakeet, often called a budgie or parakeet, is a small parrot and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus.
2. Like all parrots, budgerigars have two toes that face forward and two that face backward, unlike other birds that have three toes facing forward and 1 facing back.
3. A small long-tailed predominantly green and yellow bird with black scalloped markings on the wings and shoulders in the wild, the Budgerigar has been bred extensively with a profusion of colour forms resulting.
4. These birds are capable of turning their heads around at 180 degrees.
5. In the wild, it is a predominantly seed-eating species.
6. Budgerigars communicate with one another by making loud voices.
   
   
7. The budgerigar is found throughout the drier parts of Australia and has survived for the last five million years in the harsh inland conditions of that continent.
8. A budgerigar feeds on grass seeds, fruits (pineapples, apples, apricots, bananas and others), insects, berries, eucalyptus leaves, and various other seeds and greens.
9. The budgerigar is closely related to the lories and the fig parrots.
10. When tamed, the budgerigar is capable of pronouncing over 100 words and phrases.
11. Guinness Book of World Records states that in 1958 a budgie named Sparkie Williams won a talking contest in England. Before the budgerigar died, he could pronounce 531 words and 383 sentences. 
12. 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.
13. Budgerigars are excellent flyers and when required, they can fly hundreds of miles across vast regions in search of water and food.
14. Although more applicable to members of the genus Agapornis, the name Lovebird has been applied to them from their habit of mutual preening.
15. A budgerigar is one of the few bird species that does not build a nest and finds a hole in the tree to lay eggs.
16. The Budgerigar was first described by George Shaw in 1805, and given its current binomial name by John Gould in 1840.
17. Common predators of budgerigars are snakes and other birds of prey like hawks.
18. The genus name Melopsittacus comes from Greek and means "melodious parrot".
19. Budgerigars are well adapted to their desert habitat and hence can survive for a month without water
20. The species name undulatus is Latin for "undulated" or "wave-patterned".