In this presentation, I will introduce you to 25 fun and interesting facts about pet budgies, to increase your knowledge. Read on to learn more!

2.  Budgies or budgerigars are among the most
popular pet birds kept in the UK, and most of us
know at least one person who keeps a couple at
home! If you are considering a pet bird but do
not have the time, space or budget for a larger
bird such as a parrot, or if you are simply
enthralled by their smaller, more manageable
cousins, the budgie might be the perfect choice of
pet for you.

3.  Budgies have a third eyelid that is not usually
visible, but that is important for lubricating the
eyes and keeping them clear of dirt and debris.

4.  Historically, the budgerigar has gone by a
variety of different names in different parts of
the world, including the canary parrot, shell
parrot, zebra parrot, warbling grass parakeet,
and undulated parakeet.

5.  Budgies have a very high resting respiration
rate, ranging between 65-85 breaths per
minute.

6.  The heart rate of the budgie is also extremely
fast and cannot be monitored by listening in
the normal way, as it beats over 300 times per
minute!

7.  The original budgies were greeny-yellow in
colour, and from this, other colours developed.
The second colour was all-yellow, which was
bred from a genetic mutation. The first blue
budgie wasn’t seen until 1878!

8.  Budgies can move and see out of each eye
independently of the other one, which is
known as having monocular vision.

9.  A budgie can have up to 3,000 feathers in total
across their whole body.

10.  Budgies grind their beaks when they are happy
and relaxed, similar to cats and purring!

11.  The bones of budgies (and most other birds
that are capable of flight) are hollow, and filled
with air sacs rather than bone marrow.

12.  Budgies have more vertebrae in their necks
than humans do, allowing them to swivel their
heads up to 180 degrees, or allow them to face
backwards!

13.  Budgies can only afford to lose between 10-12
drops of blood before their blood loss becomes
fatal.

14.  The skeleton of female budgies gains density
during the breeding season, as she stockpiles
calcium to support breeding. This can make the
female budgie gain around 20% of her
bodyweight during this time!

15.  The shells of a budgie’s eggs are covered with
pores, which allow oxygen and carbon dioxide
to enter and exit the shell.

16.  The patterns of light and the shortening and
lengthening of the days tells the female budgie
when it is breeding season. Artificial lighting
can interfere with this.

17.  In mammals such as humans, our lungs
themselves expand and contract as we breathe,
as air flows in and out. In budgies, the muscles
of the chest cavity itself expands and contracts,
to force air in and out.

18.  Budgies do not have a bladder, and so their
urine and faeces pass out of the same entrance.
Budgies do not urinate!

19.  Budgies also poop as often as every twenty
minutes!

20.  Budgie’s range of hearing ranges from 400-
20,000 Hz, and budgies can remember
sequences of sounds, and sometimes mimic
them.

21.  Budgies have an incredibly acute vision in
terms of the number of images their brains can
process at a time; budgies can register over 150
images per second, compared with just 16 for
humans!

22.  While there is no guarantee that any given
budgie will sing or talk, budgies are among the
most vocal of all pet bird species, and most
budgies can at least say a few words! They also
tend to have a greater vocabulary and clearer
voices than most other pet birds, including the
cockatoo and macaw.

23.  There are two distinct species of budgies,
which are the Australian budgie and the
English budgie, which is slightly larger. The
English budgie is deliberately bred for the pet
trade, while the Australian budgie is more
similar to the natural original wild variant of
the breed.

24.  English budgies are generally a couple of
inches larger than wild Australian budgies, and
have larger heads as well as grater plumage
around their crown and face.

25.  Budgies were widely thought for many years
to be a smallest species of parrot, but in fact
another species, called the Parrotlet, is the
smallest. For many years, the Parrotlet was not
identified as a parrot species at all. Often, there
is little difference between the size of a large
Parrotlet and a small budgie!

26.  Budgies are a type of parakeet, but as there are
so many different types of parakeets in various
different sizes, budgies are not always referred
to as such.

27.  Budgies can be taught to count up to three, and
do very basic sums that involve just those three
numbers! So if you put three treats in your
hand in front of your budgie and only offer
them two, they will probably know that they
are being short changed!