The first black face budgie...

Got this photo linked from a friend to my Fb account. I just had to share this.
Blackwing blackface melanistic spangle...
The first black face specimen...

Looks just like a mini peregrine falcon!

I thought about getting a couple of budgies to go with my cockatiel but chickened out. My cockatiel is a rescue bird and VERY territorial about his cage to the point that he will attack a mirror. Love the beastie to death but am afraid to add another bird even though the cage is large enough; actually it is a cage designed for cockatoo and/or parrots. It is 3 feet wide and deep and 4 feet high. Still size of the cage means nothing if the cockatiel goes into attack mode.

I keep his cage open during the day and people sometimes ask how I get him back in. That is really a non issue as he knows when it is bed time and will go back in on his own. Also, of course, he is in and out throughout the day as in the cage is food.

If I out live my cockatiel I would very much consider some budgies. I always thought that it would be kink of cool to have a U.S.A. patriotic trio in red, white and blue.

LOL! I'm a strange person. If I got my hands on one of those black budgies I'd probably name it Darth as in Darth Vader from Star Wars.

do you cover mirrors and windows so the cockatiel doesnt crash into them? It must leave droppings all over your living quarters.

Fishmanic said:

do you cover mirrors and windows so the cockatiel doesnt crash into them? It must leave droppings all over your living quarters.

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Except for my bathroom my apartment has no mirrors. LOL! I'm 68 and don't really want to see what I look like. Except for a window sill I have yet to see any bird poop anywhere as, for some unknown reason, he tends to return to the cage to poop. Mayhaps this is also a territorial thing as in 'marking' his territory. He does poop on the window sill but that is easily wiped up and is no issue.

Crash into a window? He crashes into just about everything. Cockatiels are NOT graceful fliers. Unless they absolutely need to fly to get somewhere they are much more prone to walk and climb and he will walk around on the floor following me like a shy puppy.. Bedroom and bathroom doors are always closed during the day and, for pretty obvious reasons, my living room ceiling fan is always off when the cage is open.

He DOES like the living room window and will climb up the screen to catch some sun rays. Fortunately his talons are fine enough to not cause any damage to the window screen. Sigh, I've talked enough about this bird, 'Terabit' that I feel I should add a picture of him catching rays on the window screen. And, yes, Terabit is a computer term. He can be a terror and has bit me and I'm a computer geek hence the name.

What a great life your bird has. I wanted to get a bird, but I would feel bad if they were trapped in a cage all day.

As the comdeian Brian Regan says about birds in cages: "Gee, thanks, I appreciate the environment. I know how to fly, I'M STANDING ON A STICK!"

otterblue said:

What a great life your bird has. I wanted to get a bird, but I would feel bad if they were trapped in a cage all day.

As the comdeian Brian Regan says about birds in cages: "Gee, thanks, I appreciate the environment. I know how to fly, I'M STANDING ON A STICK!"

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I just treat Terabit as I would any other critter in my care. Having an animal friend is not a right. It is a privilege and a responsibility.

Terabit is a rather sad case. When I got him he had recently lost a bonded mate. While I have no proof I suspect his mate died due to being egg bound due to a lack of calcium. I base this on the fact that it took several weeks before Terabit realized that a cuttlefish bone was something to nibble.

Anyway this thread is not about Terabit but, rather, a black budgie so I will just get off my bird with the following link to a bit of a Terabit photo gallery. If you look there is a shot of a small white cage in front of his much larger current home. That little white cage was his home before I got him.

emeraldking said:

Got this photo linked from a friend to my Fb account. I just had to share this.
Blackwing blackface melanistic spangle...
The first black face specimen...
View attachment 312967

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That's quite some achievement

Budgie people - how much variation is there in the markings of these birds in the wild? Are a lot of the colour forms we see artificial selection?

Since it's a fish forum I'm allowed to be clueless about budgies.

GaryE said:

Budgie people - how much variation is there in the markings of these birds in the wild? Are a lot of the colour forms we see artificial selection?

Since it's a fish forum I'm allowed to be clueless about budgies.

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Here is a pair of wild type budgies (male on the left). Any other colour form in the wild is extremely rare (some say impossible). They cannot be exported from Australia (AFAIK Australians are not even allowed to keep wild ones as pets) so every one you see will be captive bred for many generations

Beautiful. But I understand they're like miniature flying Canadian deer when it comes to food growers.

Is this bird for sale/adoption? I would love to keep it with my flock of other babies!!

My bird story is crazy XD. I caught my first parakeet in my backyard, could never locate the owners, so adopted it a friend

jaylach said:

I always thought that it would be kink of cool to have a U.S.A. patriotic trio in red, white and blue.

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Well, the only missing color is the red one. Maybe a red budgie will show up one time... Who knows?

Fishmanic said:

do you cover mirrors and windows so the cockatiel doesnt crash into them? It must leave droppings all over your living quarters.

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I had a green cheek conure (parakeet) that went to his cage every time he had to do his thing. I cleaned up every time he did his droppings elsewhere in the beginning I had him. And when I cleaned up, he was always looking what I was doing. After a while he stopped doing his dropping outside the cage. He always went inside the cage and did his thing and came out when he was done.

GaryE said:

Budgie people - how much variation is there in the markings of these birds in the wild? Are a lot of the colour forms we see artificial selection?

Since it's a fish forum I'm allowed to be clueless about budgies.

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There are so many color and pattern types these days as breeding forms. In the wild they're green (some difference in green nuances can occur), black pattern and a yellow mask. Although, some cobalt blue ones have been spotted within a wild colony.

Freshyfishy said:

Is this bird for sale/adoption? I would love to keep it with my flock of other babies!!

My bird story is crazy XD. I caught my first parakeet in my backyard, could never locate the owners, so adopted it a friend

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This black specimen is not for sale. They wanna breed this specimen once it's old enough and see if more specimens like this one will be born. For it's the first black one. Right now, this bird is very young (still got those stripes on its head). I kept and bred budgies and other birds ever since I was 12 up till my 27th. Afterwards just keeping a conure (parakeet) and meyer's parrot.

emeraldking said:

Well, the only missing color is the red one. Maybe a red budgie will show up one time... Who knows?

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Hmmm - I bred budgies and cockatiels years (oh alright decades) ago. Back then red was still considered the impossible dream.

seangee said:

Hmmm - I bred budgies and cockatiels years (oh alright decades) ago. Back then red was still considered the impossible dream.

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I've kept and bred birds (parakeets, parrots, finches, weavers, diamond doves and zebra doves) starting when I was 12 up till my 27th.
Well, you never know what kind of wonders can happen. And a red budgie can be bred some day...