14 September 2011

Escaped Budgerigar - Dhahran Hills

The Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus. Wild budgerigars are found throughout the drier parts of Australia, where the species has survived harsh inland conditions for the last five million years. Naturally green and yellow with black, scalloped markings on the nape, back and wings such as this one seen at Dhahran Hills spray fields where it has been for some months associating with the House Sparrow flock. Conditions are ideal in Dhahran for the species to start breeding here at sometime assuming enough escape from captivity.