DEVON: Hello and welcome back to Kingdom: Animalia: the podcast where we cover all the facts about one species in this amazing kingdom Animalia every episode. Yeah, we’re back. Sorry for the wait. So we recorded this episode around a year ago and I’ve been anxious to release this since a year before then, so let’s just cut to the chase: I’m your host, Devon,…
CHET: …Chicka We’re your Chicka co-hosts, Chet…
CAP: …Chicka And Cap,…
DEVON: …And today we are joined by two long awaited special guests, my brand new at the time of the original recording pet Budgerigars— Welcome to the show Budgly and Rex!
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
CAP: Forced/Ingenuine: Chicka Whoopee!
CHET: Forced/Ingenuine: Chicka Welcome!
DEVON: We decided to make this episode in honor of these two.
CHET: Mumbling: Chicka You haven’t Chicka made any Chicka episodes in Chicka honor of Chicka either of Chicka us.
DEVON: What was that, Chet?
CHET: Chicka Nothing, nothing.
DEVON: Okay… So now that I finally have the time, we can teach you all of the amazing facts about the Budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus; the record holder of knowing the most human words as a non-human. Enjoy.

SOUNDS: [Animal Misconceptions: Debunked chime]
 DEVON: It’s time again for Animal Misconceptions: <echo><Debunked>.Today, it’s more of a confusion to clear up than a misconception to debunk. When it comes to birds like Budgly and Rex, you may have heard a few names including parrot, parakeet, and Budgerigar or budgie. Let’s go from broadest to most specific: First, ‘parrot.’ Parrots are members of the scientific order Psittaciformes. This contains four families: Psittaculidae, or the Old World parrots, of Asia and Australia; Psittacidae, or African and New World parrots, of Africa and the Americas; Cacatuoidea, the Cockatoos; and Strigopidae, the New Zealand parrots. All together, it contains roughly 372 different species. Next, ‘parakeet.’ Parakeet isn’t actually a scientific classification—it usually just refers to small parrots with long tails. This isn’t always true, as there are parakeets, such as the Monk Parakeet, that have short tails, and plenty of small, long-tailed parrots that aren’t called parakeets. Finally, ‘Budgerigar’ or ‘budgie.’ Budgies are a species of parrot in the Psittaculidae family with a long tail and small body, thus they are considered parakeets. Another term for them is ‘Shell Parakeet,’ while some simply call them ‘parakeet,’ though there are other species. We’ll talk more about their different names in the next episode. To summarize, budgies are parakeets which are parrots. That, I believe, is all. This has been Animal Misconceptions: <echo><Debunked>.
SOUNDS: [Animal Misconceptions: Debunked chime]

DEVON: Alrighty, everybody, let’s get started with the description.Budgies are small parrots at around 5.9 to 7.9 inches or 15 to 20 centimeters long from beak to tail and they have a wingspan of 10 to 14 inches or 25 to 36 centimeters. They weigh 1 to 1.4 ounces or 28 to 40 grams. They have narrow, pointed wings and a long tail which has two main parts: The ‘base’ of it is a medium-sized diamond that looks like it could be a tail on its own. Then, to be extra flamboyant, they have a few really long feathers coming out of its tip, making their tail up to 4.5 inches or 11.4 centimeters long. That’s more than half of their body length! You really should check out a photo, as they’re very pretty. I’ll put a link in the show notes.
 CHET: Mumbling: Chicka Real showboats, Chicka aren’t they?
DEVON: What was that?
CHET: Chicka Nothing.
DEVON: Okay, I thought I heard—Like all parrots, they have what are called zygodactyl toes, in which two face forward and two face backwards, which is a good arrangement for climbing, which many parrots are quite adept at. Budgly and Rex enjoy climbing all around their cage walls. Budgly has even climbed upside down on the ceiling of the cage.
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
DEVON: I agree, you are very acrobatic.
CHET: Chicka So are Chicka chickadees!
DEVON: I know, Chet, but this episode is about budgies, not chickadees.
CHET: Chicka Harumph.
DEVON: Their eyes are white or yellow with a black pupil. The top mandible of their beak is longer and hooked downwards while the bottom is much smaller, as in most parrots. The bottom mandible is often concealed under their feathers when their beak isn’t open. This beak structure is helpful for the seed, nut, and fruit diets of many parrots.
CAP: Chicka Chickadees’ beaks Chicka are pretty Chicka well adapted Chicka to.
DEVON: Well, as they say, you can tell a lot about a bird from their beak because they’re adapted specifically for their needs.So let’s get into their coloration.There’s yellow with dense, barred, black stripes on most of their head except the front and forehead, their back, and the top wing coverts. The coverts are the feathers on their wings and tail that aren’t used for flying, just to cover, much like their body feathers. I’ll put a link to a diagram for bird wing feathers in the show notes as well. Their belly, the wing coverts on the undersides of the wings, and the tail coverts are a bright lime green. The flight feathers (the long wing feathers used for the actual flying) and the set of coverts closest to them are a black with a thick, white stripe going down the length of the wing. The long, narrow feathers of their tail are a dark blue while the feathers of the diamond are yellow with black tips and bases.
CAP: Chicka Us chickadees Chicka prefer the Chicka more simplistic Chicka look.
DEVON: Okay… They have black spots in a row below their beak and a blue spot on either cheek. Their beak is a light brownish-green.The main way to tell apart a male and female budgie is by the color of the cere. In breeding females, they’re light brown to beige or pink to purple, light blue in nonbreeding females, and dark blue in males throughout the year. ‘But what is a cere,’ you might be asking?
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
DEVON: I know you two know, you have them. But for the listeners. Is the cere A), A patch of feathers on their back; B), A fleshy covering over their nostrils; or C), A special claw on their leg?
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
DEVON: Shh! Don’t give it away!
CAP: Chicka We’re birds. Chicka We already know what a Chicka cere is.
DEVON: That makes sense. So why don’t you give me a drumroll then, Chet?
CHET: Chicka Why don’t Chicka you ask Chicka one of Chicka your precious Chicka budgies to Chicka do it?
DEVON: Are jeal--
SOUNDS: [Drumroll]
DEVON: The answer is B…!
SOUNDS: [Correct]
DEVON: They are fleshy coverings over their nostrils. These are also found in other birds such as pigeons. The scattered colors on their feathers are accentuated under ultraviolet light, especially on their cheeks, which may aid them in telling apart males and females. The young birds look much like the adults, only their plumage is duller and their eyes are overall dark brown. If the podcast player you’re using to listen to this supports art for individual episodes, such as Apple Podcasts or Overcast, you’ll see two budgies on the cover. Those two budgies are Budgly and Rex, Budgly at left and Rex at right. If your player doesn’t support that, you can check out the page for this episode which is at kingdomanimaliapod.com/budgiesode1 (that’s 1 the number, not the word). From being bred in captivity for many years, domestic budgerigars come in many different colors, such as the popular blue-and-white morph Budgly and Rex are. Populations of captive budgies that have escaped can be found across the world.
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}

DEVON: Wild budgies will eat seeds, fruits such as berries, grains, nuts, native herbs, and insects.
 BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
 DEVON: I know, you two have a different diet. This is the first part of a Budgerigar series. This and the next part are on wild budgies, and the third is an interview on domestic budgies, where we’ll talk more about the diet of budgies like Budgly and Rex.Wild budgies are very good at exploiting food and water sources when they’re available. They’re ground-feeders, meaning they--
 CAP: Chicka Wear caps!
 DEVON: No, it means--
 CHET: Chicka They turn Chicka into chickadees!
 DEVON: That makes way less sense than budgerigars wearing caps.
 BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
 DEVON: I agree. Caps aren’t your styles.
 CAP: Chicka Cap’s should Chicka be everyone’s Chicka style.
 DEVON: Anywho… Uh… What was I saying?… Ground-feeders! Right! That means they forage on the ground, therefore they prefer to eat grass seeds (specifically from tussock and spinifex grass) and plants from crops. First they dehull the seed and then swallow it whole or minimally chewed. The seeds they eat are energy-rich and have the equivalent amount of calories to that of meat, thus they don’t need many other food sources, but they’ll also scour the ground for fruits and veggies. Berries are also a popular snack for them, though too many would make a budgie sick. A budgie’s hooked bill and flexible tongue are well suited to their granivorous (seed and grain) diet.They have very structured drinking habits, drinking typically during the morning then looking for shade in the middle of the day. They’ll consume 5.5% of their body weight of the stuff every day. In order to get this much water they often live near watering holes.

DEVON: Being a bird who lives in an arid (hot, desolate, and too hot for plants to grow) environment they’re very water hardy (meaning they’re good at surviving with little water). If there isn’t any water nearby they’ll drink morning dew and bathe in wet grass. They spend the majority of the time that they aren’t eating in trees. They’re nomadic, meaning they move around a lot, and large flocks can be found in many different open habitat types, but rarely far from water. These flocks can have up to… A), Hundreds of birds; B), Thousands of birds; or C), Tens of thousands of birds?
 CAP: Chicka A!
 CHET: Chicka C!
 DEVON: The answer… right after a quick break.
 CHET + CAP: Chicka {Groan}
 … |
 
 DEVON: Welcome back to Kingdom: Animalia - A Zoology Podcast for Kids. I’m your host, Devon,…
 CHET: …Chicka We’re your Chicka hosts… Chicka I mean Chicka co-hosts… Chicka Chet…
 CAP: …Chicka and Cap…
 BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
 DEVON: …and today we’re talking about the Budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus. Before the break, we left you with a dangling question: Can budgie flocks have up to A), Hundreds of birds; B), Thousands of birds; or C), Tens of thousands of birds?
CAP: Chicka I guessed Chicka A…
CHET: …Chicka And I Chicka guesed C.
DEVON: Can I get a drumroll please, Chet?
CHET: Chicka If I Chicka must.
BACKGROUND: [Drumroll]
DEVON: The answer is… C! So Cap, you’re wrong…
SOUNDS: [Incorrect]
CAP: Chicka Ughhh!
DEVON: …but Chet, you’re right!
SOUNDS: [Correct]
BACKGROUND: [Applause starts] [Silly Jazz Music starts]
CHET: Chicka Woohoo! Chicka Yeah! Chicka Thank you, Chicka thank you Chicka very much! Chicka I’d like Chicka to thank Chicka my parents, Chicka my agent, Chicka and my Chicka teacher. Chicka No thanks Chicka to my Chicka producer, my Chicka boss, or Chicka my editor.
DEVON: Wait… I’m your producer, boss, and editor!
CHET: Chicka Shush!
DEVON: But--
CHET: Chicka I’m trying Chicka to accept Chicka an award Chicka here!
DEVON: Okay, I’m stopping this whole thing.
SOUNDS: [Record Scratch]
CHET: Chicka Hey!
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
CHET: Chicka I do Chicka not have Chicka a big Chicka head!
DEVON: Well… to be totally honest…
CHET: Chicka Et tu, Chicka Devon?
DEVON: Moving on…Flocks of this size are seen after a season of abundant food and/or rain. Otherwise, flocks are much smaller and range from as few as three to as many as 100 or more. These flocks fly in a unique and characteristic undulating style. These large flocks make them more efficient at finding food and staying safe from predators. There don’t seem to be any hierarchies in these flocks, based on there being few fights between individuals, though females are usually more aggressive while the males are more sociable. Their activity, like many birds, starts just before sunrise with preening, singing, and moving around within the trees they roost in. Once the sun is up in the sky, the birds will fly to a chosen foraging spot and eat there throughout the day. They don’t forage during the middle of the day, which is the hottest part, or in really hot weather in general, instead they take shelter under the shade and stay motionless. At the end of the day, they’ll group back together by loudly calling and zipping around the trees. Just after the sun sets, they’ll return to their roost to sleep so the next day they can do it all again. While resting, Budgerigars do something allopreening. This is where two birds preen each other, often as a show of affection. Being social birds, they call constantly to each other with a clear chirruping sound, don’t you, Budgly and Rex?
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
CAP: Chicka Chickadees chirp Chicka among themselves, Chicka too!
DEVON: So males and females will pair up and live together in loose colonies. They’re monogamous, meaning they stay with the same mate for their whole life. Breeding takes place at any time of the year, typically after rain, often between June and September in the North and August and January in the South. The nests, which can be within yards or meters of each other, are made by lining already existing cavities in branches, tree trunks, logs, or old fence posts, or really any crevice large enough and flat enough to lay their eggs in.
CAP: Chicka Okay, here Chicka chickadees are Chicka superior. Chicka We also Chicka nest in Chicka cavities, but Chicka we put Chicka much more Chicka work into Chicka the nest Chicka itself.
DEVON: Your nests are not better than theirs, you just have different nesting needs.
CAP: Chicka Right, right. Chicka Budgly and Chicka Rex are Chicka right next Chicka to you. Chicka You can’t Chicka talk.
DEVON: Aye yai yai. In this nest, the female will lay four to eight eggs. She incubates them for 18 to 20 days until they hatch. The chicks are hatched blind without any feathers. At this stage, they’re called a hatchling. The mother has to keep them warm constantly over their first 10-ish days or so until their eyes are open. After that, they begin to grow down feathers, feathers which serve as insulation and warmth but aren’t for flight. At this stage, they’re called nestlings. Throughout these stages, the father forages and brings the food to the chicks and mother. During the next stage, the fledgling stage, they’ll grow their flight feathers. At around 4 to 8 weeks learn to fly and begin attempting to leave the nest. The point at which they learn to fly varies based on how many chicks are in the brood and each chick’s age. If a chick grows up without siblings, they’ll learn to fly sooner than chicks with many siblings because they get more attention from their parents. They’ll molt for the first time at 3 to 4 months old, changing into their adult plumage. They become fully mature at 8 months and can live for up to 15 or 20 years.

DEVON: As members of the parrot order, which has been around for <reverb><50 million years>, Budgerigars and their relatives have passed on the trait of intelligence for millions years.
 BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
 DEVON:  No need to brag, guys, that’s Chet and Cap’s job.
 CHET: Chicka Excuse me?
 DEVON: The females are more attracted to the most talkative and thus smartest males as opposed to the quiet ones, this is because the smartest budgies survive best—they’re able to find food and water sources better than their less intelligent counterparts—so if she chooses a smart male to father her chicks, they’ll likely grow up to be smart and successful as well.
 BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
 DEVON: No, I wasn’t going to forget.
 CAP: Chicka Forget what?
 DEVON: That some parrots… can dance to music!
 BACKGROUND: [Disco music starts]
 CHET: Chicka They can Chicka dance. Chicka So what?
 DEVON: They can’t just dance, Chet, they can dance along with the rhythm!
 CHET: Chicka Oh.
 DEVON: This is because there’s a link between the auditory and motor cortices of their brain. To put that in simpler terms, the part of their brain that processes sound is linked to the part of their brain that controls their movement, according to a theory brought forward by Dr. Aniruddh (a-nee-rood) Patel of the Neurosciences Institute, San Diego. Some species of parrots and the occasional elephant can dance to rhythms, but the researchers found no evidence that dogs; cats; or even our closest relatives, our fellow great apes, can do this! This means that certain species of birds share a trait with us that even our closest relatives don’t have!
 CAP: Chicka Never underestimate Chicka the awesomeness Chicka of birds.
 BACKGROUND: [Music ends]

DEVON: Now, who’s ready for some fun facts?
 CHET: Chicka Me!
 CAP: Chicka Me!
 BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
 CHET: Chicka Fact number Chicka one:
 DEVON: The bird with the largest vocabulary of English words was a domestic budgie named Puck who lived in Petaluma, California, USA, who knew roughly <reverb><1,728 words> before his death in 1994!
 CHET: Chicka Fact number Chicka two:
 DEVON: Budgerigars experience contagious yawning, which has been interpreted as a sign of empathy, making them the only non-mammals to do this, though that doesn’t necessarily mean no other non-mammals have empathy. Budgies have been shown to yawn in response to both live budgies yawning in their vicinity and recorded videos of other budgies doing such. Another study found no evidence of contagious yawning in juvenile ravens, another highly intelligent species of bird.
 CHET: Chicka Fact number Chicka three:
 DEVON: Budgerigars are believed to be the most common pet bird in the world, even ranked among dogs and cats in the list of most popular pets period! 
 CHET: Chicka Fact number Chicka four:
 DEVON: They’ve been bred in captivity since the 1850s and, in aviculture, the breeding of domestic birds, there are at least 32 main color mutations in the species, with hundreds of possible secondary mutations and varieties! Now that’s alotta colors.
 CHET: Chicka Fact number Chicka five:
 DEVON: Budgerigars have survived in inland Australia for over 5 million years.
 CHET: Chicka Fact number Chicka six:
 DEVON: Budgerigars’ movements to seek seeds and water have led the Gamilaraay, an Aboriginal Australian group, to places with rainfall and abundant food.

DEVON: Welcome to the end of part 1 of the Budgerigar. Part 2, the rest of the info I researched, will come out in the next few weeks and part 3, an interview on domestic budgies, will come out a week after that. But until then, let’s do the outro.If you want to read along with the transcript, check my facts with my references, or read the episode comic, you can click the links in the show notes or go to the page for this episode which is at kingdomanimaliapod.com/budgiesode1 (that’s 1 the number, not the word).Much of the music in this episode is by the amazing Blue Dot Sessions, on the web at www.sessions.blue.
CAP: Chicka You can support us in making this and other Chicka podcasts by spreading the word Chicka about us. Chicka It makes a bigger difference than you Chicka might think. Chicka Tell your friend. Chicka Your teacher. Chicka Your cousine. Chicka Even than wasp that stung you Chicka four years ago that totally isn’t gaining more and Chicka more control over your mind every Chicka day until you turn into Chicka the zombieish dinner for her Chicka babies.
DEVON: I have no idea what is happening to these outros. Or where that creepy music was coming from. Anyway, it really helps us out. If you can afford it, we’d really appreciate if you went extra mile by bringing me to empress wasp so I can feed her heirs–I-I mean supporting us on Patreon for as little as 4 dollars a month. (to himself) Why did I just say that? (into mic) It also gets you fun benefits like a shout and early, ad-free access to the next seasons of Where Are the Chickadee Brothers?, plus some other things like behind-the-scenes content if you sign up for a higher tier. That’s kingdomanimaliapod.com/support. You can contact us with our email, animals@kingdomanimaliapod.com, or the contact form on our website which is at kingdomanimaliapod.com/contact#animals. You can use those to send in episode suggestions and questions. There’s no riddle for the next episode because the next two are going to be the second and third parts of this series on budgies.So, until next time, never enter a dance competition against a budgie, and keep exploring this amazing Kingdom:… Animalia. Bye!
CHET: Chicka Bye!
CAP: Chicka Ciao!
BUDGLY + REX: {Chirping}
… 
 
SOUNDS: [Click]
BACKGROUND: [Cassette tape motor sound]
DEVON: {Bloopers}
SOUNDS: [Click]
BACKGROUND: [Cassette tape motor ends]
… 
 
CAP: Chicka From our Chicka spotlight, we Chicka shall not Chicka budg-ie!

- Ends -

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AZ Animals Staff. (2022). Parakeet. In AZ Animals Staff (Ed.), AZ Animals. https://a-z-animals.com/animals/parakeet

Birdorable. (n.d.). Birdorable Budgerigar. Retrieved November 19, 2023, from https://www.birdorable.com/meet/budgerigar

Bush Heritage Australia. (n.d.). Budgerigars. Retrieved November 19, 2023, from https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/budgerigars

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Budgerigar. eBird. Retrieved November 19, 2023, from https://ebird.org/species/budger

Gallup, A. C., & Wozny, S. (2022). Interspecific Contagious Yawning in Humans. Animals, 12(15), 1908. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151908

Guinness World Records. (n.d.). Largest Vocabulary for a Bird Ever. Retrieved November 19, 2023, from https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70967-largest-vocabulary-for-a-bird-ever

Ritter, M. (2009, April 30). Scientists confirm: Birds got rhythm! NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30499458

Ross, H. (2023). Budgerigar. In AZ Animals Staff (Ed.), AZ Animals. https://a-z-animals.com/animals/budgerigar

S, A. (2023). Parrot. In AZ Animals Staff (Ed.), AZ Animals. https://a-z-animals.com/animals/parrot

Sims, K. (2001). Melopsittacus undulatus (budgerigar). Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Melopsittacus_undulatus

Wells, I. M. (2018, August 20). Why do parrots dance. ExoticDirect. https://exoticdirect.co.uk/news/why-do-parrots-dance