The distinctive chatter of budgerigars has been a soundtrack to New Zealand childhoods for generations. In lounges from Auckland to Invercargill, these small birds have occupied corner cages, their cheerful chirps punctuating family dinners and lazy Sunday afternoons. But what do these intelligent, social creatures actually need to thrive?
A brief history of budgies in Aotearoa
The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) is a unique Australian species and the name budgerigar originates from the Aboriginal term ‘Betcherrygah,’ which anecdotally means: ‘Good food’. While Aboriginals once regarded the species as a food source, today budgerigars are widely recognised as intelligent, social companions rather than as food. People made the first recordings of budgerigars in the early 1800s¹. In Australia, vast flocks move nomadically across the landscape in search of water and seeding grasses. These hardy little birds are believed to have first arrived in New Zealand in the late 1800s to early 1900s, but by the mid-1900s had become firmly established in New Zealand's pet culture, and in 1934 the NZ Budgerigar Society was formed². Their small size and modest price made them accessible to many families, while their breeding potential attracted hobbyists who developed increasingly varied colour mutations.
The Appeal of Budgies
It's easy to understand why budgerigars are considered to be one of New Zealand's most popular pet birds³. They are charming, intelligent companions that pack remarkable personality into a 30-gram body.
Accessibility and affordability play a significant role. Budgies are relatively inexpensive to purchase, with pet shop birds typically costing between $20-60, though they may occasionally be available for adoption or through rehoming situations. Their small size makes them suitable for apartment living or homes without large outdoor spaces. For families wanting to introduce children to pet ownership, budgies seem like a manageable first step.
Intelligence and personality set budgies apart from other small pets. Despite their diminutive size, budgerigars are true parrots with the cognitive abilities that entails. They can learn to mimic human speech - some individuals developing vocabularies of hundreds of words⁴ - and they demonstrate problem-solving skills, playfulness, and distinct personalities. A well-socialised budgie can form genuine bonds with their human caretakers, seeking out interaction and responding to familiar voices.
Visual appeal has been enhanced through generations of selective breeding. While wild budgerigars display green and yellow plumage with black barring (black stripes on their head, back and wing coverts), captive breeding has produced an extraordinary range of colours: blues, whites, yellows, greys, and violet shades, along with various pattern mutations like pieds and spangles.
Lifespan and commitment fall into a middle ground. In captivity with proper care, budgerigars commonly live 8-12 years. Exceptional individuals can reach 15-20 years, and the oldest recorded budgerigar, a bird named Charlie from England, lived to 29 years and 2 months⁵.
The Welfare Reality
Although budgerigars are popular pets, they frequently receive inadequate care, partly because their reputation as 'easy pets' results in insufficient attention to their nutritional needs, living conditions, mental stimulation, and veterinary care - all of which compromise their welfare in domestic settings⁶.
Appropriate socialisation and housing: Social isolation and housing is likely the most widespread welfare concern. Wild budgerigars in Australia live in enormous flocks, sometimes containing thousands of individuals. These highly social birds continuously communicate with one another, engage in mutual feather care and grooming (known as preening), and participate in group activities. However, the conventional pet budgerigar setup typically features a lone bird in a cage, often with only a mirror to provide social stimulation. Inadequate cage size exacerbates these welfare concerns.
Standard budgerigar cages available in pet stores, often around 40cm in width, offer only just enough space for a budgie to fully spread its wings. Providing more space is preferable. The cage should include nesting boxes or areas with shrubbery cover where budgies can feel safe and have places to hide and rest. Toys should be rotated regularly to maintain interest, e.g., foraging toys that hide treats, shredding toys made from paper or palm leaves, climbing structures, wooden ladders, rope perches, and tree stands all serve different enrichment functions. Budgies also enjoy bathing, so providing a shallow dish of water for this purpose contributes to their wellbeing.
Time outside their cage: It is important to give budgies supervised time outside of their cages and provide them with environmental enrichment opportunities (e.g. foraging toys). Several hours of free flight daily helps maintain physical health and provides essential mental stimulation. This requires careful preparation: close all windows and doors, keep other pets out, turn off ceiling fans, hide electrical cords, remove or secure household plants (many are toxic), and cover large mirrors and glass windows to prevent collision injuries.
A balanced diet is essential for budgerigar wellbeing, yet many pet birds receive inadequate nutrition. Commercial seed mixes may be high in fat and deficient in essential nutrients, and seeds alone cannot provide complete nutrition. A proper diet should consist predominantly of high-quality pellets formulated for budgerigars, supplemented daily with a variety of fresh vegetables (such as broccoli, carrots, and dark leafy greens), sprouted seeds, and limited fruit offered weekly as treats (like banana, apples, or melon). Pellets are recommended as the dietary foundation because they provide balanced nutrition that birds cannot selectively avoid, ensuring they receive all required nutrients rather than choosing only their preferred (and often least nutritious) food items. Budgerigars must have access to fresh, clean water at all times, and mineral blocks should be provided for essential calcium, particularly during moulting or breeding.
Caring for budgerigars requires more than casual attention; these intelligent, social birds have specific needs for companionship, space, diet, mental stimulation, and veterinary care. Even in pairs, they benefit from daily interaction with their human family, who become part of their flock. Rather than assuming they are “starter pets,” prospective owners should honestly assess whether they can provide the right circumstances: a suitable home, at least two birds, a varied diet, and a decade-long commitment. When those needs can be met, budgerigars are delightful, engaging companions; if not, it may be worth reconsidering whether they are the right fit for your household.
References:
¹The Budgerigar Council of South Australia. (n.d.). History of the budgerigar. BCSA. https://bcsa.com.au/varieties/history-of-the-budgerigar
²Flockhart, K. (2020). 75 years history of the Budgerigar Society of New Zealand. Budgerigar Society NZ. https://budgerigarsociety.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/75-Years-History-of-the-BSNZ-by-Keith-Flockhart.pdf
³Hastings District Council. (n.d.). Budgerigar – Cornwall Park bird aviary. Hastings District Council. https://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/hastings/reserves/cornwall-park/cornwall-park-bird-aviary/budgerigar
⁴Leffer, L. (2025, 19 March). We finally know how parrots ‘talk’: Budgie brains reveal parallels between parrot and human speech. Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/environment/budgie-brains-reveal-parallels-between-parrot-and-human-speech
⁵Guinness World Records. (n.d.). Oldest budgerigar in captivity. Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70897-oldest-caged-budgerigar
⁶Chalmers, R., Cooper, J., & Ventura, B. (2024). What are the priority welfare issues facing parrots in captivity? A modified Delphi approach to establish expert consensus. Animal Welfare, 33, e54. https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2024.57
