Budgerigar

Budgerigar battle analysis

The budgerigar is a small parrot built for a harsh, unpredictable country. Wild flocks follow rain across inland Australia, feeding on fallen grass seed in the cool of the morning, sheltering motionless in shade through the midday heat, and wheeling around roost trees at dusk. When rain brings a flush of seed, pairs breed at once in tree hollows, and flocks can swell to tens of thousands of birds.

Its strengths are all about getting away. Laboratory work has shown that it flies in two distinct gears, a fast energy-efficient cruise and a slower maneuvering speed, and that it changes gear before it reaches a tight spot. It can fold its wings to slip through openings far narrower than its wingspan, and flock-mates watch for danger and give sharp alarm calls. Its ultraviolet-fluorescent plumage and finely tuned hearing make it one of the most studied birds in sensory science.

In a fight, none of this adds up to much. At 30 grams, with a bill that produces roughly 12 newtons, the budgerigar cannot seriously injure any vertebrate larger than itself, and it has no protection beyond its feathers. Its best result in any matchup is a clean escape into the air or into cover, and against a raptor, snake or cat that gets close, it has no answer.

Habitat & range

Wild budgerigars live across the drier parts of mainland Australia, in open grassland, mulga and mallee scrub, open woodland and farmland, seldom far from water. They are absent from the far south-west, the far north of the Northern Territory, Tasmania and most of the east coast (Australian Museum). Drought can push flocks into wooded or coastal areas. Pet birds are kept worldwide; ADW records an introduced population established in southwest Florida.

Diet & hunting

Budgerigars feed almost entirely on the seeds of native grasses and herbs such as spinifex, tussock grasses and saltbush, mostly picked from the ground, with drinking and feeding concentrated in the morning (Australian Museum; ADW). They drink about 5.5% of their body weight each day. Predators of such small flock birds include raptors, but no species-specific predation study was read in this pass.

Social life

Strongly social flock birds. Flockmates preen and feed one another by regurgitating seed. Flocks range from a few birds to 100 or more and can reach tens of thousands after rain. There is little evidence of a dominance hierarchy (ADW).

Conservation

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (BirdLife International assessment, as reported by Wikipedia and BirdLife Australia). Wild numbers fluctuate with rainfall, and farm water points have increased populations in some areas.

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