Well this little guy deserves a drumroll at least as he is arguably the most famous Australian export of all.
I speak of course of the 'Budgie' or more properly the budgerigar. This pint sized cutie has captured the hearts of old ladies everywhere and it cheers you up to hear one say "Who's a pretty boy then?" I have heard it use more colourful language but then that reflects on the owner not the budgie.
While I can argue that a caged bird is a depressing sight, budgies have brought joy and companionship to so many people and I can't begrudge them that. In the wild, I have seen flocks of many hundreds whirring across the sky, usually this green colour with some blues. Domestication and breeding have produced a bird at least twice as large as the wild type and in many shades of the original colours.
There is a story that when asked the Aboriginal name of the bird the tribesmen replied 'Budgerigar' and this supposedly meant "good to eat". This may be apocryphal but I don't know. The writing is from the song 'Don't fence me in' by Cole Porter and really expresses how I feel about the idea of keeping caged birds (wait a sec until I get my soapbox).
The budgie has lent it's name to a diminutive pop singer from Australia Kylie Minogue who has been dubbed "The Singing Budgie" and to a particular brand of very skimpy mens swimming trunks known as "Budgie smugglers" I leave that one to your imagination!
I speak of course of the 'Budgie' or more properly the budgerigar. This pint sized cutie has captured the hearts of old ladies everywhere and it cheers you up to hear one say "Who's a pretty boy then?" I have heard it use more colourful language but then that reflects on the owner not the budgie.
While I can argue that a caged bird is a depressing sight, budgies have brought joy and companionship to so many people and I can't begrudge them that. In the wild, I have seen flocks of many hundreds whirring across the sky, usually this green colour with some blues. Domestication and breeding have produced a bird at least twice as large as the wild type and in many shades of the original colours.
There is a story that when asked the Aboriginal name of the bird the tribesmen replied 'Budgerigar' and this supposedly meant "good to eat". This may be apocryphal but I don't know. The writing is from the song 'Don't fence me in' by Cole Porter and really expresses how I feel about the idea of keeping caged birds (wait a sec until I get my soapbox).
The budgie has lent it's name to a diminutive pop singer from Australia Kylie Minogue who has been dubbed "The Singing Budgie" and to a particular brand of very skimpy mens swimming trunks known as "Budgie smugglers" I leave that one to your imagination!
