Melopsittacus comes from the Greek meaning ‘song parrot’ and undulates being Latin for ‘wavy lines’.
The wavy lines refer to the dark barred pattern on the back and wings. The word budgerigar comes from the Australian aboriginal word ‘Betcherrygah’ meaning ‘good to eat’.
These birds were discovered in 1840 by the English ornithologist John Gould. They are found mainly in the interior regions of Australia where they inhabit open forests and wooded areas near water and live in large migratory flocks. Gould took some back to England, bred and studied their eating and nesting habits. As a result they became popular as pets.
Easily trained
A budgie is easy to tame, beautiful, intelligent and a good talker. It responds to music, television and household sounds such as running water or the hum of a vacuum cleaner.
With patience a budgie can be taught to speak. Try with one or two syllable words to begin. ‘Hello’ is a good word to begin with. Say the word slowly and distinctly and follow with the bird’s name.
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