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Interesting Facts about parakeets

two Parakeet parrots

1.Male or female?

If you want to find out the gender of your parakeet, look at its nose—or more specifically, the bump of flesh above its beak called the “cere”. Males have a bluish cere; the female has a brownish cere. However, that’s not the only thing that makes them different. Males tend to be more talkative and are easier to rain. Females tend to chew objects more, because of an age-old instinct to carve out a nest for their babies.

2.Spitting is a sign of love!

Parakeets regurgitate food for their own families. Father parakeets will pre-digest food and then spit it up to feed the mother at its nest, while the mother parakeet will “puree” the meal for her babies. So if your parakeet suddenly spits up food for you, take it as a compliment. It’s your pet’s way of saying, “You’re my family! I love you!”

3.Bathroom basics.

Some owners panic because their pet parakeets aren’t urinating. No, it’s not a sign of a health problem. Parakeets regularly secret round, grayish-white “poops” contains both liquid and solid waste. Just change the lining everyday and your pet will be just fine.

4.Legally binding.

Not all states require pet parakeets to wear leg bands. However, there are those—like the State of Virginia—which demand owners to place leg bands on just the monk and Quaker parakeet varieties.

5.Lost forever.

The Carolina parakeet was the only variety that was actually native to the North America. It thrived until the 19th century, when the farm industry boomed, and the birds stared feeding on the crops. Farmers began slaughtering the parakeets, becoming totally extinct by the 1880’s.

6.Size does matter.

You may have heard of the English Budgie. How is this “breed” different from the “American Parakeet” sold in most pet stores? Just the size. English Budgies are bigger, and are considered “show quality”.

7.Parakeets on the big screen.

Parakeets have made guest appearances in numerous movies. You can see them in the cult comedy Dumb and Dumber, the Will Smith hit I Robot, Time of the Wolf, The thin Red Line, Teacher’s Pet, and A Woman’s Tale. They have also been featured in horror movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and Bride of the Monster. Some people say that there was a parakeet in Golden Child, but was actually a green parrot.