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Melopsittacus undulatus

Budgerigar

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Image:	Adults	68KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Budgerigar, Budgy; German Wellensittich

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE most of Australia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, Cagebird

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Personal pet

KEY FEATURES: 18cm TL. Indigenous form bright green with yellow face and black rims on back-feathers. VOICE continuous warbling and scolding. NEST burrow in tree trunks; 4-8 eggs, oval, 19x14mm. IN CAPTIVITY a variety of colours.

Enlarged Image of 'Melopsittacus undulatus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++						-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw, 1805)
SYNONYMS: Psittacus undulatus Shaw, 1805

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); TETRAPODA; AVES; NEORNITHES; Psittaciformes; PSITTACIDAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Introduced periodically. Escapees typically die within a week (pers.comm. Brian Chitty).

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: several, caged, Nan Noavao, Matavera, 4/2000, ID GMcC - obtained a few months before from Mrs Whalen, Ngatangiia.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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