Budgerigar

Budgerigars, or budgies, brighten up the world with their colorful mix of green and yellow feathers! Also known as parakeets, these small parrots have been bred in human care to also feature blue, white and gray plumage. Budgies can see colors in the ultraviolet part of the light spectrum, a wavelength of light that human’s can’t see. Their feathers are even more dramatic in the ultraviolet range, which may make these birds more colorful to each other than they are to us!

Budgies are social birds that live in large flocks in the open habitats such as woodlands, grasslands and farmland in Australia. They are active in the early and later parts of the day, calling loudly to one another as they forage for seeds and other foods. They roost in trees at night. Females about 6 eggs in nests made in tree cavities. They care for the eggs and young while her mate brings food to them. Like other parrots, budgies can live for many years—up to age 20 or more!