Sense of rhythm

According to a Japanese study, budgerigars have the ability to peck in time with a rhythm. The discovery was made by a team including members of the Japan Science and Technology Agency and the University of Tokyo.

The ability to tap in time with a rhythm has been found in only a few species besides humans, including elephants and parrots.

Photo © dudeofthedead

The team trained eight budgerigars to peck in time with beeps and flashing LED lights, by giving them food if they managed to successfully peck at various speeds six times in a row. Later, when the intervals between each beat were set at six lengths ranging between 0.45 and 1.8 seconds, the budgies were able to peck in time with the rhythms after several attempts.

In the experiments, the birds often tapped slightly before the beep and flashing light, indicating that they could predict the intervals between the flashes.

Imitating sound made by others is deeply connected with language acquisition. The fact that budgerigars, which can imitate human speech, have a sense of rhythm is viewed by researchers as strong evidence that there is a connection between language acquisition and a sense of rhythm.

"We want to see if budgies can start dancing to music like humans do," said Yoshimasa Seki, a researcher at the Japan Science and Technology Agency.

Imagine that! ^_^

Artice © The Mainichi Daily News
Click here to view the original Japanese story.

It's been a heavy week for everyone...

Budgie Cookie falling asleep on his owner's hand...

Remember to change your clock this weekend... you and your budgies can sleep in on Sunday! ;)

"Wheatley being Wheatley"

Photo © pirpintine

Budgies are true acrobats. Did you know they're also good at climbing?

Found an escaped budgie?

When you find an escaped budgie, the first thing you have to do is to stay calm. Wrong decisions are easily made in exciting or stressful situations. You have to know that you are at this moment probably the only one who can save the life of the lost bird.

Photo © fairy-wren

Below you can find a list of things you should or should not do:

• very important: do not bring your own budgies in contact with the lost budgie. You don't know where the budgie came from. It might have been infected with diseases, so first it needs to be seen by a vet. Even if the bird looks completely healthy, you shouldn't take the chance. Some diseases are strong enough to root out a whole flock of birds, and when you notice they're sick, it's often too late.
• give the poor bird food and water. Lost budgies are often unable to find any food or water because they are only driven forward by panic until they are too exhausted to fly.
• observe the budgie: does it behave or smell strangely? Is it wounded? Is there anything abnormal about the plumage around the vent (wet, sticky feathers or parasites?). You could inspect the bird's droppings if you get the chance. Diarrhoea for example is very dangerous for budgies.
• Remember that budgies will try to behave at their best when they are in the wild. They do this to show any possible predator that they are strong, even though they feel bad.
• If you are able to catch the bird, or pick it up, you should take it to the veterinary. Take some notes about the budgie's behaviour, any details that can be useful to the vet.

After the budgie has been checked by the veterinary, you might want to check for ads in the paper or on the internet about escaped budgies. If you choose to place an ad yourself, you should also do it online, because I think this is the best way for people to find out these days. Budgies are excellent flyers and they can cover long distances in a short time, so it won't suffice to put up a notice with "Budgie found" on the bulletin board from the local supermarket.

Bird dance

... aren't budgies just awesome? ^_^