Budgies are one of the most popular birds in the avian world and these beautiful yet intelligent creatures make lovely pets.
But, many budgie lovers often wonder how they can tell the difference between a male and a female budgie.
Well, you need not worry, as this article will help you identify the gender of your winged friend with ease.
Male Or Female?
In most circumstances, avian connoisseurs will recommend that you look at the color of your budgie’s cere to help you determine the sex of your budgie.
There are naturally a few behavioral differences between the sexes of the budgies too.
However, the surest way to tell a male and female budgie apart is by looking at the cere of the budgie when it is a few weeks old.
The cere refers to the nostril and nose area above a budgie’s beak.
What Do A Male Budgies Look Like?
Male Cere
However, after the budgie is two to three weeks old, the color of the cere becomes quite prominent.
In the common colored budgie species, both the male and female have pink cere when they are born.
And, before these birds reach 14 days or more, their ceres remain pink.
But, as these vividly colored budgies grow, their feathers develop and take up spectacular colors.
The males tend to have darker shades of blue, rose, or purple-colored ceres.
By the time the male budgie is a year old, their colors become fixed, especially around the cere.
The one time you may have a hard time telling the male budgie from the female budgie is when you have species such as Albino, Lutino, or Pied birds.
Four distinct pied markings are found in budgies – Recessive Pied, Dominant Pied, Clearflight, and Mottled.
The male Pied budgies have mottled colored ceres.
It takes a while for their ceres to develop a true color. In cinnamon-colored budgies, the ceres of both sexes are often pink.
But, the plumage of the male cinnamon-colored budgie is usually lighter than that of the female budgie.
In Albino budgies, the ceres of the male and female are often similar in shade, ranging from pink to light purple.
You can look at the color of the feet and legs to tell the sex of the budgies too.
The legs and feet color of the male budgie is usually blue.
On the other hand, the female budgie’s legs and feet’ skin color is often brown or pink.
However, you can only look at the color of the feet and legs of a budgie to determine sex when your budgie is a year old.
What Does A Female Budgie Look Like?
Female Cere
The female budgie cere tends to change color depending on its breeding cycle.
But, if you have a common species of budgie, and it’s a female, you can be sure their cere will be somewhere between the shade of white to brown.
The cere is often blue in young hens with white around the nostrils.
However, looking at a female baby budgie less than two weeks old will sport the same pink shade of cere as the male baby budgie.
With the colorful variety of budgies, the females always tend to have a similar shade of ceres as the males.
But, the cere of the female budgie in the colorful kind is often whitish with a tinge of blue.
Also, the Albino male budgie is rare as the albino gene favors females.
Yet, if you can’t sex your bird, you can always use a DNA test to figure out the gender.
Furthermore, the cere of the female budgie becomes brownish when it is ready to breed.
The female budgie cere will also become scaly and enlarged at such a time.
Yet, the female does not reach its breeding cycle until it is six months old.
And, even then, budgie parents are advised to allow their female budgies to be at least a year old before they are allowed to breed.
Personality Of The Male Budgie
There is no denying that male budgies are slightly larger than female budgies and male budgies are of more vibrant shades of color than the female.
Yet avian experts will ask you to look at the personality of the bird too to assist you in making out whether the bird is a male or female.
When it comes to male budgies, many budgie owners vouch that males bob their heads more than female budgies.
It is a fact that is verified by avian experts.
Male budgies are also easier to train and more outgoing than females.
Many birdkeepers note that male budgies sing more than they screech.
Male budgies are faster at learning to talk.
Some budgie lovers claim that male budgies tap their cage bars more than females.
Personality Of The Female Budgie
If your budgie only squawks and never sings or chirps, you probably have a female budgie.
Female budgies have a reputation for being a bit moody and can sometimes seem more assertive.
And, more than anything else, if your budgie is forever chewing, you can be sure you have a female budgie on your hands.
You see, female budgies chew more than males as they reach breeding age.
The female budgie builds the nest, and they chew more to collect more items for nesting.
But for novice bird keepers who haven’t a clue about cere color or behavioral patterns, you need not worry.
You can quickly get a DNA test done and find out quite early whether you have a male or female budgie.
With DNA testing, you will be 100% about the gender of your bird.
Wrapping Up
Budgies come in many vibrant, mottled colors, and with many bird lovers, it can be challenging to tell the difference between their sex.
Nowadays, budgies are even bred to sport more and more unique colors.
So, if you want to find out the gender of your bird, you can take the simplest way out and get a DNA test done.
Either way, budgies make fabulous pets that bring life and color to any aviary.
