Not surprisingly, there is an amazing amount of parrot art on deviantArt. Hidden beneath the surface, only the devoted searcher can find this trove. Parrots in Art aims to bring some of these wonderful pieces into the light while educating about the species.

The Bold Budgerigar

Melopsittacus undulatus

Peppy, energetic, and always optimistic, the budgerigar is known by a number of names. Parakeet and Rare Parakeet are the names you see on many a pet store label here in the US. Budgerigar to the aviculturist, and Budgie to the devoted owner.

In captivity there are two main types of budgie, from the stocky and serious looking English budgie that prevailed among European breeders to the lightweight American budgie that is the closest in size to the wild budgerigars of Austrailia.


Domesticated over a century and a half of selective breeding, the pet budgerigar comes in a variety of colors that span it's wild type green to some rather outlandish color variations.


Whoops! That last one is a Bourke's parakeet, an unrelated species of parakeet. We'll get to that species some other week. Just checking to see if you were paying attention.

One particular side of budgies that many don't realize is that these little bundles of energy are extremely excellent talkers. Budgie owners will tell you the male birds are the ones that tend to talk the most, but as with all parrots it depends on the individual. Budgie speak, however, is extremely fast. If you want your parakeet to repeat clearly after you, say it slow. But even so, say it with drama!

Drama? You betcha. Like all other species of parrots, budgies thrive on drama. The more exciting something is, the more it'll stick.

And now for what you've all been waiting for:

Budgie Art

That's it for this week!
Tune in next week for Parrots in Art part 2.