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Bird name:

Budgerigar

Melopsittacus undulatus

Order

PSITTACIFORMES

Family

Parakeets and Parrots (Psittacidae)

Code 4

BUDG

Code 6

MELUND

ITIS

177597

ILLUSTRATION

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PHOTOS

CONSERVATION STATUS

Least-Concern

The Budgerigar is native to Australia. This bird has also been introduced to the United States and Puerto Rico. It is believed to be extinct in Kuwait. The range of the Budgerigar is several million square kilometers. The population of the Budgerigar has not been quantified at this time, but there is currently no reason to think that the population of this bird will face decline within the next few years. As a result, the Budgerigar is currently rated as Least Concern.

VOTE: ILLUSTRATION

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SUMMARY

Overview

Budgerigar: Small parakeet, mostly green in its wild form and may have varying amounts blue, white, or yellow in feral U.S. populations. Has a characteristic pug face, and most have finely barred upperparts. Feeds primarily on grass seeds. Birds in a flock fly in a charecteristic undulating manner.


Range and Habitat

Budgerigar: Widespread in the dry interior of Australia, but populations of escaped cage birds now established at many sites around the world including parts of Florida. Preferred habitats include grasslands, open dry woodlands, farmlands, and roadsides.

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SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to Call

Budgerigar

Voice Text

"chirrup"

INTERESTING FACTS

  • They are well adapted to their desert habitat and can survive for a month without drinking. When drought is particularly severe and they are unable to locate areas of recent rain they refrain from breeding, as the chicks would not survive.
  • A compound of budgery, "good" and gar "Cockatoo". Budgerigar means "good eating" or "good food" in some Australian Aboriginal languages.
  • Their plumage is known to fluoresce under ultraviolet light, a phenomenon possibly related to courtship and mate selection.
  • A group of budgerigars is collectively known as a "chatter" and a "flock" of budgerigars.

RELATED BIRDS

RANGE MAP

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TERMINOLOGY

CREDITS

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Dwight Kirkland

BIRD PHOTO SHARING

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AND CAMERAS

BINOCULARS AND OPTICS FOR BIRDING

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FaceX
The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX