Differences between budgies

[vankarhi]

yeah I have one apparently. I just thought budgies were budgies just different sizes due to breeding for showing. I did not realise there were different "breeds" of budgies.

As far as I am concerned........Peppa is a true blue dinki di aussie through and through. ;D

[Jane]

That's be lovely to see Megan.
The original wildtype budgie is now known as the 'bush budgie' they are tiny compared to what you see as american and english budgies. I had some bush budgie cocks and they were half the size of Basil my big boofy presumably english budgie.
Wait to you see a real bush budgie in person, they are tiny

[Karen]

and incredibly cute!

[luisa]

shetland, that's right

[luisa]

cat you upload a photo all three close?. I think my English budgies are anerican budgies...

[AussieBirds]

One of my pet hates during my 25 years of breeding budgies was people calling them "American" budgies, let me tell you there is no such thing as an "American" budgie it's just a name given to them by Americans in order to let everyone think they invented the breed.

The true terminology for these fascinating little birds is:

Bush Budgie: This is the native version found in outback Australia they are small and all the same colour, although there are some mutations appearing in them I believe due mainly to escaped domestic birds and interbreeding, but on the whole they are all green and yellow with a splashing of black.

Show Budgie: This is usually the Australian domestic bird and is judged on it's size and colour, only the bigger birds are shown and usually the smaller version of this bird ends up in pet shops for sale to the public, they are varied in colour and size and the pet shop birds are usually obtained from breeders "getting rid" of their smaller birds not acceptable for shows.

English Budgie: This bird is a true mutation of the show budgie and was bred to it's current size and shape in the UK originally particularly for the show bench but it is now accepted as a separate breed, there are some spectacular English budgies around however the really good ones don't come on the market that often and those that do are usually suffering the same fate as show birds, ending up in pet shops because they are not up to standard. It pays to be very careful in buying an English budgie from a pet shop as they do suffer from a few defects and you can get your fingers burnt if your not careful.

All other mutations in the budgie world, and there quite a few, way too many to go into here in this post,come from the good old Aussie show bird once i repeat there is no such thing as an American Budgie it is just a name given to them by the Americans because as was said earlier they just love to own everything


John

[robert]

I would just like to add,that while the bush budgie is the wild budgie.There are people who enjoy having them. They only come in the one colour.Still they are a delightfull bird.There are breeders in Australia,who now advertise selling them. They are obviously more agile in movement than the bigger budgie. I have heard a fan of the bigger budgies describe the bush budgie as deformed because it is so much smaller. I am thankfull they are endearing themselves to others. from Robert and Angel

[Laraine]

I once saw a cage of bush budgies in a pet shop, they really are a delightful bird, smaller than our "normal" budgies, but they were all hopping around like finches.

I read the other day about a flock of budgies in Florida, USA, and was wondering where they came from?

[angelicvampyre]

Ok Picture time and a definition time (this comes from my Budgie club)

There are three "types" of Budgies.

The Bush Budgie (what you would see in the wild and native to Australia) Lifespan 5 - 20 years

These birds should only be a green normal, however you do find that some have Blue on their bellies, this is a natural mutation coming out (where we got the different colours from)

The Pet Budgie - refered to "American Budgie" in the states, what you most commonaly see in pet stores, colours range and size may also vary. Lifespan 5 - 20 years.


The Show Budgie - refered to "English Budgie" Largest Mutation, has to conform with show standards in the country that you are showing them in. Australia still has some of the smallest birds with the UK and Europe having the largest. Also the UK and Europe has increase the feathering of their birds unlike the Show Budgies in Austrlia who has a sleeker look.

In show types you will see, larger spots, better markings, and larger head and blow on the bird.


Crested (another mutation) can be shown but normally do not have the size of bigger show birds, there are also different degrees of the crest




A Pet Type and Show Type same age next to each other


Show Type vs Bush Budgie (not the best picture but you get the size thing)


hope this makes sense and the pictures help. Also all the picture are of my birds or birds I have owned in the past so the show type is not that great but you get the drift

[Karen]

Excellent definition Angelicvampyre!
I can't see the pics as my works IT department doesn't allow alot of things to be viewed from the net, but I will most definately view them when I get home.


okay have seen them and they are beautiful! well done

[robert]

Thankyou for the wonderfull photos,angelicvampyre.Especially delightfull to see pictures of the Bush Budgie.Have included links on them in the links section,under Budgies. from Robert and Precious