- The parakeet is how Americans refer to the budgerigar (nicknamed “budgie”), an Aboriginal name derived from the words “budgery” (also “betcherry”) meaning good, and “gar” meaning cockatoo. Like there’s any such thing as a bad cockatoo!
- The parakeet is the most commonly kept bird in the world!
- The parakeet has the largest documented vocabulary of any parrot species. A parakeet named Puck holds the Guinness Book of World Records title with 1,728 words and phrases!
- Parakeets bred for show are often two inches (more than 25%) larger that the native species!
- The word parakeet refers to small birds with long, flat tails. Other well-known parakeets are the Indian ringneck parakeet and the South American quaker parakeet!
- Parakeets have as many as 3,000 feathers on their bodies!
- The normal body temperature for a parakeet is over 102 degrees and its heart beats over 200 times a minute!
- A normal parakeet clutch consists of about 5-7 eggs! That’s a lot of eggs for a little body!
- The lifespan of the average parakeet is typically between 5-10 years. However, Charlie, a parakeet from London, England lived to the ripe old age of 29 – he was hatched in 1948 and died on 06/20/1977!
- Wild parakeets like to bathe by rolling around in wet grass!