Bred to be bigger than their Australian (original/native), and American counterparts, they are all actually one type of bird - Melopsittacus undulatus - hailing from Australia. In the United States they are more commonly known as parakeets, but while they do fall under that title, not all parakeets are budgies. (Parakeets are actually small to medium-sized, long-tailed, hook-billed parrots. And, w
hile all parakeets are parrots, not all parrots are parakeets. Confused?) There are plenty of parakeets that aren't budgies, for example, Indian Ringneck Parakeets, Rosey Bourke Parakeets, Quaker or Monk Parakeets, etc. Anyway, Piccolo was hand-fed as a baby and I brought him home at the tender age of 8 weeks old on Dec. 1, 2014. He was quarantined away from his flock members for the first few weeks, but soon joined them in our family's living room where he has become an intregal part of our family, along with our two dogs, two cats, and five humans, including me, Piccolo's personal assistant and favorite person. We're one big, happy family here in Central New Jersey in Somerset County.
