Budgerigar

A small parrot (family Psittaculidae) native to the arid interior of Australia, and the world's most popular pet bird. Wild adults weigh ~30 g with a body length of ~18 cm. Wild-type plumage is green with yellow face and black scalloped markings on wings and back. Through selective breeding, over 100 color mutations exist (blue, white, yellow, violet, lutino, etc.). They have a small, curved beak and a long, graduated tail. Highly social and nomadic in the wild, they form enormous flocks (sometimes thousands) that follow rainfall and seed availability across the outback. Granivorous, eating grass seeds. They are vocal mimics in captivity, with some individuals learning 100+ words. They breed opportunistically after rain; cavity nesters laying 4–8 eggs; incubation: 18 days. They are used in avian genetics, vocal learning, and vision research. Their genome is sequenced—they are one of three independently evolved lineages of vocal learning birds (parrots, songbirds, hummingbirds). Lifespan: 5–8 years captive (up to 15). 2n=62. IUCN: Least Concern.