View source for Budgerigar

{{speciesbox
| name = Budgerigar / Parakeet
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Paleocene|recent}} [[Paleocene]]–recent
| edit_link = 
| color = {{Taxobox_colour|[[Animalia]]}}
| genus = Melopsittacus
| species = undulatus
| taxon = Melopsittacus undulatus
|authority= Shaw, 1805
|display_parents=4
|parent_authority=[[John Gould|Gould]], 1840
|status=LC
|status_system=IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref name=IUCN>{{cite web|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22685223/0|title=''Melopsittacus undulatus''|last=BirdLife International|year=2012|work=2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.|accessdate=1 May 2012}}</ref>
|image=English_and_American_Budgerigars.png
|image_width=240px
|image_alt=
|image_caption=Three domestic Budgerigars; an English (left) and two American (right).
|image2=Male_and_female_wild_Budgerigars.png
|image2_width=240px
|image2_alt=
|image2_caption=Male (left) and female (right) wild Budgerigars.
|subdivision=None ([[monotypic]])
|subdivision_ranks=  Subspecies
|range_map=
|synonyms= ''Psittacus undulatus'' (protonym)
|synonyms_ref= <ref name="Avibase" />
}}

The '''Budgerigar''' (''Melopsittacus undulatus'') {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʌ|dʒ|ər|ɨ|ɡ|ɑr}}, also known as '''common pet parakeet''' or '''shell parakeet''' and informally nicknamed the '''budgie''', is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating [[parrot]]. Budgerigars are the only species in the [[Australia]]n genus ''Melopsittacus'', and are found wild throughout the drier parts of [[Australia]] where the species has survived harsh inland conditions for the last five million years.<ref>{{cite web
  | title =Dr. Marshall's Philosophy on Breeding Exhibition Budgerigars
  | publisher =Bird Health
  | year =2004
  | url =http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/budgie/article.html
 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040811184656/http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/budgie/article.html
 |archivedate=2004-08-11 |accessdate=4 November 2013}}</ref> Budgerigars are naturally green and yellow with black, scalloped markings on the nape, back, and wings, but have been bred in captivity with colouring in blues, whites, yellows, greys, and even with small [[Crest (feathers)|crests]]. Budgerigars are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech. [[#Etymology|The origin of the budgerigar's name]] is unclear. The species was first recorded in 1805, and today is the third most popular pet in the world, after the domesticated dog and cat.<ref>{{cite book|title=The New Encyclopedia of Birds|edition=1|editor1-first=Christopher|editor1-last=Perrins|year=2003|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|chapter=Parrots, Lories, and Cockatoos|nopp=|isbn=9780198525066}}</ref>

The budgerigar is closely related to the [[lories and lorikeets|lories]] and the [[fig parrot]]s.<ref name=wright>{{cite journal|last=Wright|first=TF|coauthors=Schirtzinger EE, Matsumoto T, Eberhard JR, Graves GR, Sanchez JJ, Capelli S, Mueller H, Scharpegge J, Chambers GK and Fleischer RC|year=2008|title=A Multilocus Molecular Phylogeny of the Parrots (Psittaciformes): Support for a Gondwanan Origin during the Cretaceous|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume=25|pages=2141–2156|doi= 10.1093/molbev/msn160|pmid=18653733|issue=10|pmc=2727385}}</ref><ref name=tokita>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1525-142X.2007.00199.x|last=Tokita |first=M|coauthors=Kiyoshi T and Armstrong KN |year=2007|title=Evolution of craniofacial novelty in parrots through developmental modularity and heterochrony|journal=Evolution & Development|volume=9|issue=6|pages=590–601|url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118546207/abstract|pmid=17976055}}</ref><ref name=deKloet>{{cite journal|last=de Kloet|first=RS|author2=de Kloet SR|year=2005|title=The evolution of the spindlin gene in birds: Sequence analysis of an intron of the spindlin W and Z gene reveals four major divisions of the Psittaciformes|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=36|pages=706–721|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.03.013|pmid=16099384|issue=3}}</ref><ref name="Schweizer">{{cite journal|title=The evolutionary diversification of parrots supports a taxon pulse model with multiple trans-oceanic dispersal events and local radiations|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|year=2009|first=M. |last=Schweizer|pmid=19699808 |coauthors=Seehausen O, Güntert M and Hertwig ST|volume=54|doi= 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.08.021|url=|issue=3|format=|accessdate=|pages=984–94 }}</ref> They are one of the [[parakeet]] species, a non-taxonomical term that refers to any of a number of small parrots with long, flat and tapered tails. In both captivity and the wild, budgerigars breed [[Opportunistic breeders|opportunistically]] and [[Breeding pair|in pairs]].

Wild budgerigars are usually found to be mostly green in colour. Selective breeding, by breeders, over the years has caused changes in colour.  Cage bred budgerigars are also larger in size than wild budgerigars.
__NOTOC__
{{othernames
|english=Budgerigar, Budgerygah, Budgie, Canary Parrot, Grass-Parakeet,<br/> Lovebird,  Scalloped Parrot, Shell Parakeet, Shell Parrot,<br /> Undulated Parrot, Warbling Grass-Parrot, Zebra Parrot.<ref name="Avibase">{{Avibase|D17D101A132D3FB2|Melopsittacus undulatus}}</ref>
|scientific='''Protonym:''' ''Psittacus undulatus''<ref name="Avibase"/>
}}

==Desciption== 
Length is {{convert|7|-|8|in|cm|abbr=on}} and weight is {{convert|30|g|oz|abbr=on}}.{{Definitive}} Small, slender-bodied; bright green parrot.<ref name="AEE"/>

Unmistakable; the only small long-tailed green parrot with boldly barred upperparts; sexes alike; juvenile resembles adults,<ref name="ParrotsoftheWorld"/> but have brown irides, black barring on frons and cheeks.<ref name="AEE"/> 

Domestic cagebirds have many colours,{{ParrotsoftheWorld}} including yellow, blue, lilac, white, grey or different greens.<ref name="AEE"/> 

Male has dark blue cere while the female has a light blue to brown cere.<ref name="AEE"/> Both sexes have a yellow throat and forehead.<ref name="AEE"/> Blue and black throat spots.<ref name="AEE"/> Pale wingbar in flight.<ref name="AEE"/> 

===Similar species=== 

==Behaviour== 
Densely packed, fast-wheeling flocks. Nomadic.{{AustraliaEighthEd}}

===Diet=== 
===Calls=== 
Continuous 'chirrup'; 'zitting', alarm calls.<ref name="AEE"/> 

===Reproduction=== 

==Distribution/habitat==
Widespread and locally abundant in interior of Australia.<ref name="Avibase"/> Endemic to Australia.<ref name="AEE"/> Found in small numbers along the [[Gulf Coast]] of the US.{{StokesNABirds}} Habitat is arid and semi-arid woodlands, grasslands and farms.<ref name="AEE"/> 

==Domestication==
Budgerigars remain as popular pets and companions to humans ever since they were captured in captivity since the 1850s. As a result of breeders, domesticated Budgerigars have been bred to obtain more feather colours including blue, white, purple, and more. 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{AlsoOnWikipedia|Budgerigar}}
{{AlsoOnCommons|Melopsittacus undulatus|Budgerigar}}
{{AlsoOnWikispecies|Melopsittacus undulatus|Budgerigar}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Budgerigar}}


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[[Category:Psittaculinae]]
[[Category:Loriini]]
[[Category:Melopsittacus]]
[[Category:Genera of Psittaciformes]]
[[Category:Monogamous species]]