Posted December 29, 200816 yr I answered a topic on Yahoo answers recently where someone asked if Parakeets and Budgies were the same thing. QUESTION Are budgies and parakeets the same thing? answers from others Yes, the terms are one in the same and both budgies and parakeets are the same type of bird. Yes, same term. Budgerigar, Budgies, parakeets. Many names, same bird $! (yes) Yes I think they are. Just different names for them. yep, exactly the same. Budgie is just the Australian name for it. Yes. "Budgie" is just a nickname for "Budgerigar". "Budgerigar" is just the scientific name for the parakeet. MY ANSWER....which got chosen as best answer Parakeets are a family of different parrot types. The budgerigar or budgie is just one of several types of parakeet. A budgie is a type of parakeet. BUT A parakeet isnt a budgie or isnt a type of budgie. The common usage of the term parakeet , especially in the USA, is not the correct term for the budgerigar, no matter how many people choose to use the word Parakeet instead of budgie or budgerigar. --------------------------------------... Parakeets belong to the parrot family and the word "Parakeet" means long tail. They are small to medium sized parrots with long, tapered tail feathers rather than the larger parrots with stockier bodies and squarish tails. These colorful, graceful birds are full of energy! Being flock birds, parakeets are very social with each other and with people. They love attention and make wonderful pets. The parakeet genera are found in many of the various parrot sub-families and overall there are about 120 species with many sub-species. They come from many diverse habitats throughout Asia, Australia, tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa, Central America and South America. Parakeets can be ------------------ Alexandrine Parakeet Budgerigars - Parakeets Derbyan Parakeet Eastern Rosella Indian Ringneck Parakeet Plum-headed Parakeet Quaker Parakeet Regent Parakeet so the term parakeet isnt another name for a budgie...it is a species of several types of parrots. Just because parakeet is often used by people to describe a budgie doesnt make it the real or other name of a budgie. ******************************************************************************** Also in this topic...... http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....c=23983&hl= the keet debate comes up, so I thought I would post the common misconception from YAHOO as it seems a lot of people get confused. Seems to me that on the whole the USA likes to rename things.... The budgie or budgerigar is a Parakeet or keet The pet type budgie in the US is called an American Budgie.............. nowhere else are they called AMERICAN The show type Budgie in the USA is called an "English" ............but they arent called ENGLISH in england or australia Pardon me for believing the budgerigar is an Australian bird, regardless of where it lives. If we can educate ourselves no matter how old we are or where we live....then why do educated people still call budgies KEETS ?? Edited December 30, 200816 yr by KAZ
December 29, 200816 yr If we can educate ourselves no matter how old we are or where we live....then why do educated people still call budgies KEETS ?? Because they are 'keets. The term parakeet is a correct general term for a budgerigar. You have agreed as much in your definition. A budgie is a type of parakeet. It is not wrong to call it such. Just like calling an Amazon or an African Grey a parrot, or a Collie or a Schnauzer a dog, it is not wrong, it is just a generalization. I believe this topic has been hashed about before, hasn't it?
December 29, 200816 yr [ i just simply love the way you word things kaz that was pashionant and informative yet put acrossed your point BOLDLY good writting mate,you tell them ,lol
December 29, 200816 yr I agree Rainbow, I call my Rainbow Lorikeet just a lorikeet or a lori all the time but that's not her species just a generalisation I guess the issue ere is just ensuring that people realise it is a generalisation as I think it causes alot of confusion at the moment Edited December 29, 200816 yr by melbournebudgies
December 30, 200816 yr Author Because they are 'keets. The term parakeet is a correct general term for a budgerigar. You have agreed as much in your definition. A budgie is a type of parakeet. It is not wrong to call it such. Just like calling an Amazon or an African Grey a parrot, or a Collie or a Schnauzer a dog, it is not wrong, it is just a generalization. I believe this topic has been hashed about before, hasn't it? Yes...budgies are in a family of parakeets, but they arent just a parakeet....a whole family of birds are. This is just posted as an educational topic...no more, no less.
December 30, 200816 yr That's great! I find it really annoying too when american websites say that parakeet is the real name and budgie is just a "nickname" that Australians use. It's also wrong how that other person commented that budgerigar is the "scientific name" because I thought usually scientific name refers to the genus and species. I suppose it's a bit impossible trying to argue with a population the size of America but at least you answered correctly when someone asked, and lots of people might read it and know better. In some circumstances I might be inclined to say parakeet if I didn't have the time or energy level to bother explaining what a budgie is. I have had this conversation before with someone from overseas: them> do you have any pets? me> yes we have a budgie them> a what?? me> a parakeet them> oh me> but actually, budgie is the correct name for parakeet, because....[at this point their eyes glaze over and they are visibly no longer interested in the conversation]
December 30, 200816 yr I stick with preffering BUDGIE as a name for them. We are not a parakeet website as we only talk about budgies Though budgerigars are often called Parakeets, especially in American English, this term refers to any of a number of small parrots with long flat tails. A parakeet is a North American term for any one of a large number of unrelated small to medium sized parrot species, that generally have long-tail feathers. The term is descriptive, but does not imply an actual relationship between the different parakeets. Edited January 16, 200916 yr by KAZ
December 30, 200816 yr Good on ya Kaz. Especially for getting the best answer too. That made me a little happier.
December 30, 200816 yr Good job KAZ. I don't mind if people call them parakeets because that is what they are, but when they say that budgie is the 'nickname' for parakeet that annoys me.
January 15, 200916 yr My aunty used to call her show types English Budgies.. I didn't know they weren't in-fact english at the time so i didn't argue with her. But our birds were the only things we talked about last time i saw her.. and of course it came up I've got her calling them show types now. Very persuasive I am She has a gorgeous dom. pied male that i'm gonna steal and a YF Coblat hen, that wold look so perfect among my birds.. Edited January 15, 200916 yr by sunshine*
January 16, 200916 yr I stick with preffering BUDIGE as a name for them. We are not a parakeet website as we only talk about budgies Though budgerigars are often called Parakeets, especially in American English, this term refers to any of a number of small parrots with long flat tails. A parakeet is a North American term for any one of a large number of unrelated small to medium sized parrot species, that generally have long-tail feathers. The term is descriptive, but does not imply an actual relationship between the different parakeets. That is incorrect. Parakeet is not a North American term to describe parrots with long tail feathers, that is the definition. They are not unrelated, by being in the same category (parakeets) that implies a relationship of some sort between each species. It has nothing to do with locale. Your first definition of parakeet was more correct. I think you may have confused something there as your post is at odds with itself. :0 Good job KAZ. I don't mind if people call them parakeets because that is what they are, but when they say that budgie is the 'nickname' for parakeet that annoys me. I agree, Jimmy, they are classed as parakeets first, then more specifically they are budgerigars. Although I've never heard budgie being a nickname for a parakeet??? I've only seen budgie as a nickname for budgerigar. That is not an American misconception, I have never heard that we Americans think budgie is a term Australians use for parakeets. To follow up on what krosp has posted as a typical conversation: I think much of the problem lies in discussions between what people feel a passion for - in this case those that love parrots and those that do not share our passion for them. Those that do not probably would not know or care whether they used the correct terminology or not. That is the case though, with anyone who does not share a passion with someone else, not only regarding parrots/parakeets/budgerigars in this case but regarding anything someone is not overly interested in. I'm sure there are many topics out there that groups of people share a passion for that I could care less about - and would not be able to carry on a conversation about using all the correct terminology with someone who loved it. My lack of knowledge on the subject wouldn't be because I live in America or anywhere else for that matter, but because I may not have the same level of interest about whatever the topic is. Once you start lumping a group of people together in a category you cease to be impartial and begin to be sucked into an us against them mentality. I thought we were here sharing a common passion for these little birds... This thread has been an quite an eye-opener, to say the least. Edited January 16, 200916 yr by Rainbow
January 16, 200916 yr However Rainbow, it is only the Americans that prefer to call budgies by their group name; Parakeet, rather than their more specific species common name; Budgerigar.
January 16, 200916 yr I stick with preffering BUDIGE as a name for them. We are not a parakeet website as we only talk about budgies Though budgerigars are often called Parakeets, especially in American English, this term refers to any of a number of small parrots with long flat tails. A parakeet is a North American term for any one of a large number of unrelated small to medium sized parrot species, that generally have long-tail feathers. The term is descriptive, but does not imply an actual relationship between the different parakeets. That is incorrect. Parakeet is not a North American term to describe parrots with long tail feathers, that is the definition. They are not unrelated, by being in the same category (parakeets) that implies a relationship of some sort between each species. It has nothing to do with locale. Your first definition of parakeet was more correct. I think you may have confused something there as your post is at odds with itself. :0 Good job KAZ. I don't mind if people call them parakeets because that is what they are, but when they say that budgie is the 'nickname' for parakeet that annoys me. I agree, Jimmy, they are classed as parakeets first, then more specifically they are budgerigars. Although I've never heard budgie being a nickname for a parakeet??? I've only seen budgie as a nickname for budgerigar. That is not an American misconception, I have never heard that we Americans think budgie is a term Australians use for parakeets. To follow up on what krosp has posted as a typical conversation: I think much of the problem lies in discussions between what people feel a passion for - in this case those that love parrots and those that do not share our passion for them. Those that do not probably would not know or care whether they used the correct terminology or not. That is the case though, with anyone who does not share a passion with someone else, not only regarding parrots/parakeets/budgerigars in this case but regarding anything someone is not overly interested in. I'm sure there are many topics out there that groups of people share a passion for that I could care less about - and would not be able to carry on a conversation about using all the correct terminology with someone who loved it. My lack of knowledge on the subject wouldn't be because I live in America or anywhere else for that matter, but because I may not have the same level of interest about whatever the topic is. Once you start lumping a group of people together in a category you cease to be impartial and begin to be sucked into an us against them mentality. I thought we were here sharing a common passion for these little birds... This thread has been an quite an eye-opener, to say the least. Actually I have never had that conversation with Americans, so it must not only be in America that they call them parakeets. Maybe part of the reason that Aussies get so annoyed about the terminology is because there is a sense that they're our native birds so everyone should call them what we call them! That shouldn't be the case though, but as different countries adopt different things from all over the place, the way people refer to things of course differs between countries too and that is perfectly normal. I don't know, I'm just guessing here. Probably a bigger issue is the fact that this question even gets asked - "what is the difference?" which shows that there is some misunderstanding out there that they actually aren't the same thing. Edited January 16, 200916 yr by krosp
January 16, 200916 yr I think what Liv meant by 'unrelated' is that they do not necessarily all belong to a single genus, the parakeet group encompasses birds from many different genera. Interestingly the grouping 'Parakeet' is rarely used in Australia at all. I am a conservation uni grad who has studied a broad range of areas including birds and it is just not a grouping that we use here
January 16, 200916 yr We use the term parakeet. Like kakarikis aka red crowned parakeets. Indian ringneck parakeet Plum headed parakeet. Rosellas Red rumped parakeets. But then, I also call some birds this: Quaker parrot Alexandrine parrot When you think about it. If the definition of a parakeet is a parrot with long tail feathers, then wouldn't a macaw count? I always thought parakeets are that and are the smaller parrot species. So I think of parakeets as little parrots with long tails.
January 16, 200916 yr the way people refer to things of course differs between countries too and that is perfectly normal. Krosp you said it best...I am sure if we got all the countries in the world on this forum that there would be many different descriptions, titles etc...for what a parakeet is. This is not just for birds but for anything around the world we all speak different, we label things differently. Even in the U.S the northern states speak and use different labels then the southern states. In fact, just the way we say hello to others is different..you don't see American's saying cheers to people on a normal basis but in another country you would that is okay!! Right Sure there will always be the 1 person that is upset that someone doesn't label the budgie (which I know them as) correctly but so if I said you want a pop and the person said you mean a soda should I get ticked ...of course not. I think this post was just meant to be information only. Seems to me that on the whole the USA likes to rename things....The budgie or budgerigar is a Parakeet or keet This could be very well true in your eyes for sure but in our eyes we could say the same thing about AU or another country. I believe we need to respect that we all have different ways to say things from all over the world and because we see mainly AU and US on this forum we can't say educatedly that we are the only country that does this right? I am sure every country has labels and saying that they have switched around for different things all the time. I am sure it is not just budgies that get confused on where the lineage has started...and probably could go talk to some dog, cat breeders and they would say the same thing. Do you know how annoying it is when they tell me that Cabela is a miniature doberman when in fact he is NOT and that they were not bred from Doberman's at all but the German Pinscher if I got upset everytime someone said look at the cute min dobie I would have stroked out already. I used to explain it now it isn't even worth it because when I start with well the German Pinscher is the Grandfather and it was split into 3 different groups...they fade out and look at me like I am crazy - maybe I am but I post this as an example that it happens not just with budgies but with all different breeds of animals. Edited January 16, 200916 yr by Elly adding
January 16, 200916 yr the way people refer to things of course differs between countries too and that is perfectly normal. Krosp you said it best...I am sure if we got all the countries in the world on this forum that there would be many different descriptions, titles etc...for what a parakeet is. This is not just for birds but for anything around the world we all speak different, we label things differently. Even in the U.S the northern states speak and use different labels then the southern states. In fact, just the way we say hello to others is different..you don't see American's saying cheers to people on a normal basis but in another country you would that is okay!! Right Sure there will always be the 1 person that is upset that someone doesn't label the budgie (which I know them as) correctly but so if I said you want a pop and the person said you mean a soda should I get ticked ...of course not. I think this post was just meant to be information only. It was, but then it seems that some people took it to heart This could be very well true in your eyes for sure but in our eyes we could say the same thing about AU or another country. I believe we need to respect that we all have different ways to say things from all over the world and because we see mainly AU and US on this forum we can't say educatedly that we are the only country that does this right? I am sure every country has labels and saying that they have switched around for different things all the time. Yet this failure to give one of our native animals it's proper title, but rather to call it by a category of birds, is insulting. If you called a platypus a mammal you would be right, but it is not its name. I am sure it is not just budgies that get confused on where the lineage has started Let me clear up this confusion then, every budgerigar can trace its origin back to Australia. Budegerigar is a combination of two aboriginal words. Now, as far as I know native Aboriginals are not dutch or american. Native Australians, who named a native animal, are native to AUSTRALIA!!! I respect different nationalities and peoples rights to call things differently, however I was always taught that we should call and pronounce things the way that the people who come from the area do. For example, if a person who comes from Newcastle pronounces it phoentically is "new-cass-el" then that is the way should say it. If they pronounce it "new-car-sel" then that is the way we should say it. The budgerigar is an Australia bird. I am sure that American's would be insulted if every one around the world started calling the eagle that appears on the coat of arms a white headed sea eagle. Yes, the budgerigar belongs to the parakeet family, so it is correct to say that all bugerigars are parakeets. It is not coorect to say that all parakeets are budgies, and that is the major point in this debate. No one is setting out to insult anyone, no one is setting out to denegrate any other cultures or nationalities. Many Australians just dislike that one of our native animals is called by so many names that are not its true name. We have seen Engligh Budgies and American budgies. That is rubbish. The budgerigar is Australian. When someone asks me what my dogs are I say Cairn Terriers. Imagine how silly it would be if someone walked up to me and said "what are they?" asking about my dogs, and I said "they are "canines." Do you think people could see that? If you had a siamese cat and someone came up to you and said "she is beautiful, what is she?" and you said "she is a feline". To me that would be ridiculous. If I want to the zoo and there three different type of monkeys in three enclsoure next to each other, and there was a big sign in front of each that said "monkey". I would look at the sign and think "stupid zoo, at least go to the effort to inform people correctly about what type of monkeys they are". The zoo is right, they are monkeys, but it is more correct to say Spider monkey, or whatever particular monkey they are. All that is being said is that by saying parakeet people are naming the genus or the group that budgerigars belong to. Like calling all typoes of dogs canines or all types felines. It is not specific. That is all we are saying. Edited January 16, 200916 yr by KAZ
January 16, 200916 yr I respect different nationalities and peoples rights to call things differently, however I was always taught that we should call and pronounce things the way that the people who come from the area do. I think in a perfect world that would be wonderful but we all talk different and that needs to be respected also. Even in the U.S. for example the state of Oregon is prounouced in different ways, I remember having a good friend from this state and she said they hated the way the way the eastern part of the U.S. said their states name, it is all in the accent. If I went to New York, I would ask for a pop not a soda (which is what they call it), I couldn't possible know every object they may have a different name for it is impossible. Yes there are many different names for budgies, and yes it is common to see here the English and American Budgie etc...but it is the way some people tell them apart they are not doing to disrespect a nationality in any way. The statement that is being take is personal is Seems to me that on the whole the USA likes to rename things....The budgie or budgerigar is a Parakeet or keet. Do you blame an American for taking that personally? What if I turned around and said you know It seems to me that on a whole that the Australians like to rename things or they like to correct us American's all the time or whatever, what if I changed USA to Japanese or Australia to New Zealanders would then would those nationalities not take offense? Though this statement was not meant as a dig it was interepreted as a dig. What I have learned about interpretation is this, the person may have said it this way but this is the way it was intrepretated and the person who intrepretated is no way wrong because that is what they have heard. I also believe that if any one of us from the US would have said something like this that the AU membership would certainly be upset too.
January 16, 200916 yr The statement that is being take is personal is Seems to me that on the whole the USA likes to rename things....The budgie or budgerigar is a Parakeet or keet. Do you blame an American for taking that personally? What if I turned around and said you know It seems to me that on a whole that the Australians like to rename things or they like to correct us American's all the time or whatever, what if I changed USA to Japanese or Australia to New Zealanders would then would those nationalities not take offense? Though this statement was not meant as a dig it was interepreted as a dig. What I have learned about interpretation is this, the person may have said it this way but this is the way it was intrepretated and the person who intrepretated is no way wrong because that is what they have heard. I also believe that if any one of us from the US would have said something like this that the AU membership would certainly be upset too. Perception is a funny thing. A recent study showed that many young Australians who go overseas get drunk and get arrested. It creates an ugly image of Australians in some overseas countries but is is the way that we are seen. This is a small number of Australians who carry on this way, however we all have to bear the burden of these people's actions. Not every person from the middle east is a terrorist, but when a middle eastern person gets on a plane, people, whether they mean to or not, glance at this person with a look of fear on their face. Is this person a terrorist? No. Yet they are preceived this way. Any person who is speaking truthfully will acknowledge that the US has a perception problem. A lot of this has bee caused by the foreign policies of your government. If the most recent election is anything to go by, the vast majority of US citizens disagreed with these policies. However in saying that, you cannot not acknowledge that the US, as a country, and thus its people, have rightly, or wrongly, appeared arrogant. I once had a lecturer form the US who stated that the US citizens have great knolwedge of the US, but poor knowledge of overseas. Perhaps we have seen this in the Middle East. This topic has strayed greatly away form where it is started. You, as a US citizen, are feeling insulted by comments made. Ultimately, they were not intended to insult. It was a matter of perception. Rather than getting emotionally insulted about it, perhaps it would be better to seek to enlighten on why they are called Keets and not their true name? A comment was made about how one person perceives things, someone else interpreted that in a different way, then others got insulted. Ultimately, little is achieved.
January 16, 200916 yr Dave, personally I was not insulted it was another member but as I read it I can see it could have been taken wrongly. Less war and more talk on getting to really know what is going on in each persons situation. The media plays a large part in what they want everyone to "perceive" so if it is the truth or not the general audienc is going to believe it. So what I may have heard about Australian or others may not be true but that is they way the media is perceiving it. I like to think that everyone has a little bit of common sense and realize that everything said about another person, nationality etc...is not the complete truth.
