# Stalking the Feral Budgie **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819 "2005-07-16T18:24:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/21 "2005-07-19T01:14:41Z")
**brachy** , George looks like he might be an English budgie. I’m no expert, but looked into budgie info recently when I bought two at a yard sale “Well, we’re jest tired of em” :eek: The English budgie is bigger, and George’s beak looks like the beak of the ones I saw at the bird store. The American budgie has a “cuter” face, small beak. This may matter in finding George’s owner because English budgies are more expensive, and show birds. It might be worth posting Missing Bird on a local budgie website. Though, I’d think a show bird’s wings would be kept trimmed. Lucky George to have you rescue him. A bright birdie like that seems to be sure hawk chow in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/22 "2005-07-19T02:43:57Z")
It’s a little hard to tell, but George is not that much larger than an adult House Sparrow. [Here’s an adult male I’m holding.](http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~lreed/birds/hospadm2.jpg). But I haven’t seen English budgies, so maybe he is one? His beak is pretty big. He also wasn’t ringed (but maybe show budgies aren’t banded here?). He did puff up a bit, but many birds do that when held by a big, potential predator. _I’m big and scary - don’t eat me!_ The House Sparrows also hold their wings out, I guess to emphasis that message, heh. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/23 "2005-07-19T03:14:25Z")
Here’s a link showing some English budgies; [http://www.parrotparrot.com/budgies/](http://www.parrotparrot.com/budgies/) Again, I’m no expert, but George’s beak looks bigger than my run-o-the mill (yard sale) keets. One of the traits of English budgies is that they “puff up” more, and have more scallopped markings. My regular American pet store keets are a bit smaller than a House Sparrow. I think you’re right to think show birds would be banded. I’ll retract my previous observation that show birds would be wing clipped… nice feathers are probably a show attribute. I’ve come to love these yard sale budgies, they are getting along with my two rescue cockatiels; one a wild flier, one a leftover from a sad triple (human) murder case. They all have taming issues, but I’m trying. Whatever George’s fate, he’s lucky to have a birdlover look after him. One point: if you want to finger train a bird, it’s thought best to clip their wings to make them dependent on you. I haven’t done this, because i have a whole room for the birds, and let them fly at will. I’m sure that hinders their “step up” progress, but i’m a softy with allowing them their born flight rights. ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/24 "2005-07-19T03:22:09Z")
Your George is very handsome and beaky, but I think he is a standard budgie. The English budgies I have met have more prominent spotted feathers around the face and a pouty-er look. He looks almost as angry as my George bird (a mitred conure) at the vet’s office. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/25 "2005-07-19T03:26:05Z")
I held ours while Mrs. Plant cut a couple of mm of the long claw. He tried to chew on my fingers all the while. Tough little guy. 🙂 All is well. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/26 "2005-07-19T03:33:26Z")
> [@brachyrhynchos](#): > > Very cool, man. You’ve worked in some neat places! > > I got my kak as a Christmas present from a dear friend. Normally I don’t think pets as gifts are a good idea, but he knew exactly what to get me, and the personality of the kak fit me just right. There aren’t too many kak breeders here in the states, which is a shame as they are such charming, if somewhat aloof, birds. Very messy eaters, flinging food everywhere. Terrific flyers. I’d love to see them in the wild. I did a post-doc with the NZ Wildlife Service in the early 1980s, working on Stitchbirds (an endangered honeyeater) on Little Barrier Island. We had both Red-crowned and Yellow-crowned Kakarikis in the forest there - they loved eating beech seeds. We also had lots of Kakas, who used to come in to be fed at the ranger’s house. I was lucky enough to be able to work with the biggest budgie of all, the [Kakapo](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Conservation/001~Plants-and-Animals/001~Native-Animals/Kakapo.asp). The Wildlife Service was doing a translocation from Stewart Island to Little Barrier when I was there, so I got to handle 5 or 6 of them, and also glimpse a couple at night wandering around. I also went chasing them around in the Southern Alps and on Stewart Island, though I never saw any there - although I did hear them booming. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819/27 "2005-07-19T03:43:33Z")
Here’s a link with specifics on English budgies, albeit one that is biased against the breeding. Interesting, though… [http://freespace.virgin.net/cobber.budgies/littlebud.html](http://freespace.virgin.net/cobber.budgies/littlebud.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stalking-the-feral-budgie/312819.md?page=1)