Parakeets For Dummies. Nikki Moustaki

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       Size difference: The American parakeet is smaller, thinner, and more streamlined than its British counterpart. The English show budgie is stately looking, with a full, prominent chest and forehead. Its eyes are barely evident and its beak is tucked into the feathers of its face. It is 8½ to 9½ inches long, whereas the American is about 7 inches long.FIGURE 1-1: The English budgie (left, male) and American parakeets (right, female, male).

       Temperament: The American parakeet is feistier than the English budgie and may be more active than its mellower cousin. Both birds are good companions. Whichever type you choose, you can tame the bird into a wonderful pal, or keep a pair to watch and add some liveliness to your home.

       Lifespan: Lifespan is one of the primary differences between the parakeet and the budgie. The big English budgie lives about 7 to 8 years, and the American parakeet can live 14 years or more with the proper care.

       Crown: The crown is the top of the head.

       Nares (nostrils): The nares are at the top of the beak.

       Cere: The cere is the fleshy area above the beak that contains the nostrils. It becomes blue in mature male parakeets, and brown in breeding condition females. When parakeets are young, it’s white to light pink. The cere is a purplish-pink in males and a whitish-blue in females (when females are not in breeding condition).

       Beak: The upper and lower mandibles (jaws) make up the parakeet’s beak. The parakeet is classified as a hookbill, meaning that the beak is shaped like a hook and is perfect for cracking seeds and breaking twigs.

       Ear: Your parakeet has small flat holes for ears, and they’re covered by thin feathers that protect the ear. This is why you can’t see them unless your bird is wet.

       Eyes: The parakeet’s eyes are on either side of its head so that its field of vision is about 300 degrees. By contrast, a human’s field of vision is about 120 degrees. This wider view of the world is because the parakeet is a prey animal and needs to be constantly on alert for predators. Parakeets, like many birds, have a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane, which is a thin, semitransparent lid that washes the eye like a squeegee and closes for protection.

       Throat: The throat is just beneath the beak and extends to the breast.

       Nape: The nape is the back of the neck.

       Shoulder: The shoulder is at the top of the wing nearest the parakeet’s back.

       Breast: The breast is just below the throat.

       Foot: Everything that most of us think of as a bird’s leg is actually a bird’s foot. That’s why the “knee” appears to bend the wrong way — it’s actually the bird’s heel. The parakeet’s foot is zygodactyl, meaning it has two toes in front and two in back, perfect for grasping and climbing.

       Vent: The vent is where your bird eliminates. In a human, this would be a combined anus and urethra. Birds’ urine is not separate from their droppings; urine is combined with the fecal portion of the dropping as a small wet outer ring.

       Primary feathers: Parakeets have ten long primary wing feathers that aid in flight.

       Secondary feathers: The secondary feathers on the wing occur after the primaries, closer to the body.

       Rump: The rump is beneath the primary flight feathers on the parakeet’s lower back.

       Mantle: The mantle is the back area between the shoulders of the parakeet.

       Crop: The crop is a sac-like organ that’s kind of like a “first stomach.” It’s where the food goes immediately after being swallowed and is located at the top of the breast.

       Syrinx: The syrinx is equivalent to vocal chords in humans. It allows parakeets to talk and vocalize when air is pushed through it.