Budgerigar

Open encyclopedia reference

The budgerigar ( BUJ-ər-ih-gar, -⁠ə-ree-; Melopsittacus undulatus), also known as the common parakeet, shell parakeet or budgie ( BUJ-ee), is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot native to Australia. Naturally, the species is green and yellow with black, scalloped markings on the nape, back, and wings. Budgies are bred in captivity with colouring of blues, whites, yellows, greys, and even with small crests. Juveniles and chicks are monomorphic (the sexes are visually indistinguishable), while adults are told apart by their cere colouring and their behaviour. The species is monotypic, meaning it is the only member of the genus Melopsittacus, which is the only genus in the tribe Melopsittacini. The budgerigar is closely related to lories and the fig parrots. The origin of the budgerigar's name is unclear. First recorded in 1805, budgerigars are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech. They are the third most popular pet in the world, after the domesticated dog and cat.

Wikipedia contributors, Budgerigar; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:23:28.953488+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw, 1805)

Name authority

(Shaw, 1805)

Common name

Budgerigar

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Psittaciformes

Family

Psittaculidae

Genus

Melopsittacus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPsittaciformes
10. familyPsittaculidae
11. genusMelopsittacus Gould, 1840
12. speciesMelopsittacus undulatus (Shaw, 1805)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 155 records assigned to Psittaculidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177597 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3ZN3R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.