Male and female budgies can look alike unless you know what to look for when sexing them. One of the easiest ways how to tell if a budgie is male or female is to look at the cere, once the bird has reached maturity. This is the fleshy nostril area, above the parakeet's beak. As long as the bird is mature enough to have a fully-formed cere, it can be a major clue in determining a budgie's gender.
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At what age can you tell a budgie's gender? For budgies under eight months to a year in age, looking at the cere might not be foolproof. Another way to determine the sex of your budgie is to notice its behavior with you, and with other birds, if possible. You can also listen to the sounds your budgie makes to help determine if the bird is a male or female.
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Male or female bird?
So, is your budgie bird male or female? The best way to figure out parakeet gender is to look at your budgie's cere. A male budgie's cere will be a bright bluish or purple color. Most of the time, a male's cere will be larger than a female's cere.
If you have an albino, dark-eyed clear, recessive pied, lacewing, or fallow variety of parakeet, the cere will be a brighter shade of violet or pink. Female budgies will have less colorful and bright ceres. Most of the time, they will look white, tan, or a dull pink color. A female's cere will also be rough in texture, looking like flaky or rough skin.
Male budgie behavior
Watch your budgie. Male budgies are less aggressive than females, and males are more outgoing than females. Males are more likely to seem friendlier and receptive to you while females are more temperamental and bossy. If you are watching a group of budgies interacting, notice which ones seem to be friendlier and which ones appear to be more aggressive with each other. Males are also more active overall and bob their heads while they are playing.
Listen to your budgie. Probably one of the easiest ways of knowing whether you have a male or female budgie is to listen to it. Males will sing more than females, and females tend to make noises that sound angrier than anything that might be mistaken for a song. Males can sound mad at times, but not nearly as often as females do.
Female budgies
Even the most experienced avian pet owner can be puzzled when trying to figure out if a parakeet is male or female. Females have a light blue cere when they are young, which just adds to the confusion. Personality cues are helpful. For example, females can be more sassy and brooding. A lady parakeet will tend to be more aggressive than her male counterpart, mainly because she is defending her territory and the nest. Females chew more than males because of nesting behavior. Girl budgies will squawk rather than sing.
Best birds for kids
Without a doubt, one of the best birds for kids is the parakeet. These birds are easy to care for, require minimal time, and are very smart and entertaining. Kids can handle a budgie quite nicely because these birds are small — generally weighing less than two ounces. The budgies' delightful personalities, and the ability to train them to talk or mimic familiar sounds, makes them a fun first pet for children. Kids can learn about pet care by having a small bird, such as a parakeet, as their first pet.