Bought a few Budgies

I have always been fond of keeping pets and have had several; some of them were the weirdest ones. When I was a little kid, my grandmother always used to keep a pet bird in the house. There was this Mynah I remember and it could speak so clearly that it was hard to imagine that it wasn’t a human voice. I remember several parrots from my childhood, all of them were taught how to speak by my grandma and I think that is where I too grew a fondness for pets.

My pets however ranged way out from just birds. My normal pets were an Alsatian dog and a pair of white pigeons (Gola kabootar). Apart from these, all my pets were what people called as madness. I have had 3 black cobras, a Russell Viper, 10 black scorpions, a Python, a monitor lizard and a garden snake as pets. There was time a when I almost bought a baby crocodile for pet.

For last few years, after I set my last cobra free, I did not keep any pet for a long time. Couple of weeks before, while I was sitting idle, I thought to visit a nearby pet store. I had no idea about what I was planning to buy or If I was going to buy anything at all. I went to the shop and the first thing that caught my eye was a big cage of Budgerigars and I immediately know what I was going to buy.

Also known as common pet parakeet or shell parakeet and informally nicknamed the budgie, budgerigar is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot. Budgerigars are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech.

The origin of the budgerigar’s name is unclear. The species was first recorded in 1805, and today is the third most popular pet in the world, after the domesticated dog and cat. Budgerigars are nomadic birds found in open habitats, primarily in scrublands, open woodlands, and grasslands of Australia.

I had a really hard time picking which ones I wanted to buy because they were all so pretty. Initially I thought to buy 1 pair but then decided to buy 2 pairs but ended up buying 3 pairs with a large enough cage. These in my opinion were the prettiest among all the bird and animals at the pet store and surprisingly were the cheapest. There were parrots priced at Rs. 15,000 a pair and these cute little things were for Rs. 400 a pair.

These are really lively and active birds and sometimes annoyingly loud. They are so small that they can fit even in a kid’s hand and it is hard to imagine that something so small could be so loud. Initially they remained silent for a few days which I believe was because of new environment and a new cage but now they chirp all day long. I sometimes have to put the cage in other room so I can have some silence and peace. But overall, very lively, beautiful and active birds.

I can spend hours just standing in front of the cage and watch them do little funny things. They keep jumping around, kissing each other but the best is when these tiny cute things fight in the cutest manner ever. Take a look at the pics below and you will know what I mean. The light switch in my room has also kind of became an On/Off switch for these birds. As long as there is light in the room, they will keep chirping and jumping around in the cage. The moment I turn off the light, it is pin drop silence.

I like this one in particular. See how those two are busy fondling and the green one is watching them with such interest.

Like I have done with all my pets, I intend to keep them for a few months and then let them go. I strongly believe that a bird is meant for the skies and not a cage. Budgies can live for as long as 6-8 years and the ones I bought are all close to 15-16 months old. For now, I am happy with my new pets, plan to keep them for a little while and then let them go.