Click: Captive Care of the Budgerigar (“Parakeet”), Melopsittacus undulatus; – Budgerigars as Pets - Part I, to read the first part of this article.
Feeding
Budgerigars should be offered a mix of seed based (i.e. Pretty Bird Premium Budgie Diet) and pelleted (i.e. Zu Preem Parakeet Fruit Blend) foods.  Sprouting grass (sprout pot), budgerigar treat foods and [...]

Note: Please see Natural History of the Budgerigar for information on budgerigars in the wild.
Introduction
From its introduction to European aviculture by eminent British ornithologist John Gould in 1840, the budgerigar has grown to be the world’s most commonly kept pet bird.  Perhaps due to their tiny size, budgerigars are often underestimated as pets.  However, they are as [...]

Click here to read Part I of The Natural History and Captive Care of the Budgerigar (“Parakeet”), Melopsittacus undulatus
Diet
Budgerigars feed on the ground, foraging in small to quite large flocks. Their diet is comprised almost exclusively of the seeds of various grasses, with Spinifex and Mitchell grass being particularly important. They sometimes take wheat and [...]

Overview
The budgerigar (or “budgie”), more commonly referred to as “parakeet” in the USA, is undoubtedly the most commonly kept parrot, if not bird, in the world.  In fact, many think of the budgerigar as a purely domesticated species, and know little of its existence in the wild.  Yet it is Australia’s most numerous parrot, and [...]

Introduction
Microchips are tiny computer chips that, when inserted below the skin of an animal, provide a means of permanent identification.  In my work as a zoologist, I have long used them with a wide variety of birds, reptiles and mammals.  Early models were large and tended to move about, but those in use today are [...]

Introduction
Parrotlets are just what their name implies – tiny parrots.  Despite their diminutive stature – they average but 6 inches in length, and some are even smaller - they are “all parrot”.  Parrotlets combine all of the larger species qualities in a small package, with an important exception – they do not scream (but they [...]

Those Observant Parrots
Parrot keepers are well aware that individual birds often “take to” one person or to people of one sex only, and respond with aggression or fear to others.  Long –term pet parrots most definitely react differently to the various people living in the household – seeming to know what they can “get away [...]

Ants and other insects, interesting as they may be in their own right, are the bane of pet and zoo keepers alike.  Eliminating them around pets is especially difficult as commercial sprays are harmful to a wide variety of creatures (ourselves included, no doubt!), with birds being particularly sensitive (please see my article “Protecting Birds [...]

Overview
Today I’d like to cover a bird that, while generally illegal to keep in the USA, is one of the largest and most impressive species that might reasonably be encountered anywhere within the USA, and beyond – the Great Horned Owl. 
Their occasional propensity for living near people (until recently, a pair nested in Battery Park, [...]

Please see Part I of this article for an overview and a list of other toxic plant species. Many of the plants listed there and below are also toxic to mammals, and therefore should not be offered to hamsters, gerbils, mice, chipmunks or other pets. Insect-fanciers have an easier time – some of the most [...]