Normal Budgie Behavior ( Complete Guide)

Last Updated on April 25, 2022 by Ali Shahid

A Budgie is, by far, one of the most adorable birds that you could ever own. Budgies are generally intelligent, innocent, and friendly. When you have a budgie as a pet, you will never feel lonely or sad in your house. The world’s most popular bird is considered to have a lively and warm personality. You probably want to know some common and normal budgie behavior when you take home your first bird.

Budgie’s parents who are new to the practice might not understand their actions or might not take them seriously. In this case, you might not understand the behavior of your budgie as it is very normal for budgies. Consequently, I will describe some common behaviors of budges based on my experience as a specialist in budgies.

Normal Budgie Behavior

As long as your budgie doesn’t seem ill, has neither too much heat nor too much cold, and is generally healthy and happy, you can expect him to exhibit the following “typical” behaviors.

Grooming

A budgie enjoys preening and grooming her feathers. As long as the bird is in a good mood, it will happily pick up dust and dirt, rub natural oils all over its plumage, and remove feather dust. Relaxation is evident in this behavior.

Budgies are happy when they help each other to reach spots around the head and neck by preening each other. It is generally thought that budgies who do not preen are feeling ill or depressed.

Good Appetite

Fortunately, budgies have big appetites relative to their size to compensate for their high-energy lifestyles. Budgies can consume large amounts of food throughout the day due to their fast-paced metabolism.

If you have a budgie that feels happy, he will gladly eat pellets, seeds, fruits, and vegetables if he feels happy. When you offer a piece of strawberry or lettuce to a budgie, and he or she eagerly eats the item, you may be certain it is content. There is usually a reason why budgies refuse to eat.

Most often, it is because they are sick or even depressed. It should be noted that the only exception to this rule is for budgies that are new to the household. These birds may be upset for several days before they can eat.

Playing

Foraging, examining new objects, and pecking at branches or bark are just some of the daily activities of wild budgies. At home, toys are used to replace these activities. There are many bells, ropes, perches, and climbing toys that are used by a happy budgie.

The bird will also love to play with you, or other birds in its cage. There isn’t a budgie in the world that won’t like staying active every once in a while.

Budgie Head Bobbing

Watching a male budgie bob his head is very entertaining, as these birds are fascinated by this motion. When the bird moves in this manner, one can often hear it chattering as it travels ups and downs quickly and fluidly.

Male birds might demonstrate their ‘rubber’ necks for the benefit of their female friends if they happen to be nearby – this is a part of their mating displays. If left to develop naturally, bobbing can create mutual feeding and mating.

While pet budgies do bob their heads periodically, they also enjoy doing it at other times. It is more common for an outgoing bird to bob its head. It’s usually males who indulge in the bobbing bug, but occasionally females also catch the boobing budgies.

They will likely bob towards another male, towards you, or a mirror, or a favorite toy, or possibly towards a meal or a particular area of their cage. It isn’t unusual for head bobbing to become part of a ritual song and dance performance. Budgies tend to do this when they are happy and enthusiastic.

Budgie Exercise

It is a common occurrence for budgies to flap their wings violently first thing in the morning as they perch on a branch. It is not unusual for their feet to leave the perch and to perform a noisy hover in which their wings warm up as well as scatter seeds husks, feathers, and other debris into the air.

These behaviors are not in any way related to aggression or display; they simply need to shake their wings after resting for a long time. There will often be chirrups and calls accompanying their mad flapping.

In the absence of an aviary with a large space where they can fly freely, the budgies will need to be allowed to fly around in the room outside of their cage.

Further, budgies enjoy gymnastic exercises as well, climbing the cage walls and roof, and hanging from hanging toys like feathered squirrels that are hooked to wires.

Bathing

Whenever it comes to bathing, every budgie has its preferences. It is not unusual for some budgies to not bathe at all, and yet other birds bathe regularly. If your Budgie does bathe, you should bathe her once a week or twice per month.

Several of the budgies that reside in cages can bathe on their own, spraying water on themselves and the floor with their beaks as they go, splashing water from the water dish provided inside the cage.

If you don’t want to do this, rather fill a shallow container with water and put it in the cage every week to provide your budgie with a bath. Whenever your pet bird wants to go down into the water to play, he will do so.

As I understand it, some budgies enjoy rubbing themselves with damp grass you put in the cage for them to eat before a bath. Also, you can bathe your budgie by misting or spritzing him gently with a spray bottle after you have washed him.

A budgie that wants to bathe will let you know by puffing up its feathers. If he does not want to take a bath, do not force him.

Poofing & Tail Wagging

It is common for budgies to shake their feathers to straighten them out as they sometimes stand up and flap their wings. Budgies will often do their best to poof up, shake their head, and then wag their tails as they clean their feathers or do something else that may have ruffled their feathers.

When this happens, all their feathers get back in place. It has been observed that budgies also puff up their feathers (without shaking) before they go to bed or when they are comfy like just before a nap.

If budgie is feeling happy or excited, they are likely to poof for a short time. It can also happen that a budgie will puff up certain parts of his body when he wants to show off for another budgie. He normally displays the tail feathers and the head feathers.

Stretching

The first sign that your budgie needs to stretch is after a period of inactivity. The budgie’s leg and wing are usually stretched out first on one side, then on the other side. It is usually then that he will lift both his wings up according to the stretch that he is going to complete while not extending them. This process might have to be repeated if he is especially stiff. It is quite common for budgies to do some light exercise after he has rolled.

Sociable

Budgies bond with their owners and interact with others when they are happy, which is what makes them so special. The sad truth is that budgies kept alone often suffer from depression and develop destructive habits if left alone.

It has been observed that budgies will form stronger pair bonds with each other if there is a mirror in their environment, as it gives them the feeling of being part of a larger flock. However, this does not apply to lone budgies who appear to be confused by their reflection, losing enthusiasm when their reflection doesn’t respond to their calls.

To make sure that your budgie is happy, you should try to make sure that they are in a good mood when you are with them. There may be times the bulldog walks up your arm to rub against your shoulder or perch on your shoulder.

 Budgie Yawning

 In the same way that we yawn when we are tired, budgies also yawn when they are tired. A bird opens its beak wide, closes its eyes, and stretches out its neck. It may do this many times during the day.

You should not be alarmed, it is just the normal start of sleep. When the budgie shakes his head or makes coughing sounds, or when his beak remains open for long periods, you should be concerned.

If you notice that your budgie is having difficulty breathing, you should go to the veterinarian as soon as possible. This indicates a problem, perhaps a blockage. Budgie yawns are just as infectious as human yawns – to the extent that you might just join in, and wonder about this remarkable phenomenon that occurs across species.

Budgie Chewing

In general, budgies love chewing stuff – it is a behavior that they will strive to satisfy in one way or one way or another, so it is best to provide something that they might want to chew on as often as possible.

It is advisable to use balsa wood, as well as a stick or wooden perch to support the bird. As cuttlefish bones crumble into powder when pecked by a bird, they can’t be considered ‘chewable’.

Flying

While they love to walk, buggies prefer to fly like their favorite mode of transportation. Even though your budgie is without a place to go, it will still enjoy fluttering around your living room or soar. There is nothing more natural than giving your budgie wings a stretch, and a happy bird will be eager to continue doing this.

Applied Animal Behavior Science conducted a study on budgies in aviaries and provided different amounts of space for them to fly around in. It has been found that as soon as budgies were given the chance, their moods improved, and their flights became longer and more frequent.

Singing

It is the male budgies that perform the singing. They sing in different ways in different parts of the cage. Sometimes the birds sing alone while they are in the cage. However, a lot of the time the birds sing for their cage mates as well.

Birds of a similar age, more experienced in singing, can share their skills with young birds. A large part of what budgies do is play, sing, and interact with each other via singing. There are different kinds of songs that budgies sing, such as trills, tweets, and screeches, but they always have their sound.

There are even some breeds that include other sounds in their song. A male budgie will sing to another male budgie as a way to show off. Female budgies will sing to male budgies to attract them.

Playing with toys

Budgies can spend all day playing with toys since they love them so much. Rubber toys are their favorite kind of toys. They are also attracted to objects that make sounds, which some people use to keep their budgies entertained by hanging bells in their cages.

Budgies destroy all of their toys completely when they play with them. This may seem like anger, but it is normal for them to do so. Every month, you should offer your bird a new toy and surprise it because they are a little bit curious and like surprises. This is evident in their body language that they appreciate the effort so much.

Male vs. Female Budgie Behavior

There’s the matter of personality, which can make things more complicated, and the fact that male and female budgies can communicate differently. Because they are both part of the same species, there will always be some overlap. Despite this, a budgie’s sex can have a significant impact on its behavior.

There is a higher probability that male budgerigars will sing for long periods, for instance. For instance, their vocals will be louder and their songs will be quite varied. On average, budgie males are more friendly, easily get along with other cage mates, and do more head bobbing than females.

This is because the males are less territorial than the females, which makes them much more approachable. A female budgerigar on the other hand is more aggressive, aloof, evasive, and fierce than a male. Despite their cuteness, however, they can still be wary of new things due to their defensive instincts.

Males tend to vocalize more often, and females, on the other hand, tend to sing less often and at lower volumes. Male and female Budgies have very different mating habits and as a result, there will be an obvious difference between them.

Whenever a male attempts to engage a female in conversation, he will tap nearby objects, bobble his head, and display his feathers. Females tend to be a bit less showy. As she prepares for the laying of her eggs, she will also become more destructive because she will clear an area for the eggs to be laid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the reason for budgies’ nervous behavior?

The Budgie is a small prey animal that is constantly on the lookout for threats. As a result of this, they are often scared of their new owners, the changes in their environment, and any disturbances that occur to them. The majority of Budgies will become more tolerant after a few months and will be relaxed.

Why is Budgie putting a foot on other Budgies?

This is most likely a mating display when a budgie’s foot is on the body of another budgie. As a rule, it is usually the male who places their feet on top of the body of the female.

How do female budgies behave during mating?

 During his flight from perch to perch the male chirps and bobbles his head a lot, jumping around from perch to perch. A male bird is said to move from his perch to that of a female bird and tap her beak with its beak eventually. Females will respond to a male’s advances by arching their backs and raising their tails.