What Is a Budgie? Meaning, Colours, Care and Budgie Names
What 'budgie' means, how to tell a male from a female, how long budgies live, how to care for one in Nigeria, and 40 budgie names to choose from.
A budgie is a budgerigar: a small, long-tailed parrot from Australia, and one of the most popular pet birds in the world. "Budgie" is simply the short form of budgerigar. Budgies are also called parakeets in some countries.
Budgie colours
Wild budgies are green and yellow with black wavy lines on the head and wings. Pet budgies come in many colours: sky blue, yellow, white, grey, violet and mixes. The colour doesn't change the personality.
Male or female?
Look at the cere, the band of skin above the beak, on an adult budgie:
- **Male:** usually bright blue or purple
- **Female:** usually brown, beige or whitish blue
Young budgies and some colour types are hard to read, which is why some listings say "Not identified" until the bird is older.
How long do budgies live?
About 5 to 10 years with good care, and some live longer.
Do budgies talk?
Many do, especially males. Some budgies learn dozens of words in a fast, high voice. But no bird is guaranteed to talk. Clawfrican guarantees tame, friendly birds.
Caring for a budgie in Nigeria
- **Live in pairs:** budgies are flock birds and are happiest with a companion.
- **Food:** a good pellet or seed mix plus fresh vegetables every day. See safe foods for pet birds.
- **Heat:** keep the cage out of direct afternoon sun, with fresh water always.
- **Cage:** wide, with bar spacing of about 1.2 cm. See our parrot cage guide.
40 budgie names
**Nigerian names:** Ayo, Tiwa, Simi, Bolu, Ada, Chike, Dayo, Kemi, Tunde, Zara, Nneka, Femi, Sade, Uche
**Food names:** Puff-puff, Chin-chin, Plantain, Mango, Kiwi, Pepper, Biscuit, Suya, Coco
**Colour names:** Sunny, Skye, Azure, Olive, Snow, Lemon, Indigo, Pistachio
**Fun names:** Gist, Wahala, Oga, Bobo, Sweetie, Captain, Pikin, Jollof, Chatter
Get your budgies
Budgies are ₦60,000 each or ₦115,000 for a pair at Clawfrican as of November 2026. See current prices on our available birds page.
Cover photo: mary bernadette de vera (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.