budgerigar

Small Australian parakeet Melopsittacus undulatus of the parrot family, Psittacidae, order Psittaciformes, that feeds mainly on grass seeds. In the wild, it has a bright green body and a blue tail with yellow flares; yellow, white, blue, and mauve varieties have been bred for the pet market. Budgerigars breed freely in captivity.

Budgerigars are well adapted to their desert habitat and can survive for a month without drinking. They make the most out of the unyielding terrain by living a nomadic lifestyle, but if drought is particularly severe and they are unable to locate areas of recent rain then they refrain from breeding, as the chicks would simply not survive. Normally females lay a clutch of four to six eggs, each egg being laid a day apart, with each egg hatching after 19 days.

There are about 30 recognized shades of colour; among the more rare are white-flighteds, opalines, and yellow-faced greys.