About The Budgie:    The Budgie originated from Australia where they live nomadic lives and traveling in huge flocks. The name came from the word "Budgerigar" which means "Good to Eat" from the native Australian Aborigines language. They are 6-9 inches long and have  alive span of 5-15 years. Some have even lived as long as 21 years long. They are very social creatures who crave companionship from the rest of their flock and hate to be alone. They  are very playful and smart creatures. With patience and time, they can be tamed and sometimes even taught to speak. They are very small and therefore do not cost a lot to keep and care for. They are noisy sometimes and can make a lot of messes.     Buying a Budgie:   Buying a Budgie is a very important decision for the bird (s) will be your responsibility for a long time. You will need to provide it the right size cage, many toys, fresh fruits and veggies everyday, water, seeds, pellets, treats and of course the most important interaction with you. You must be able to give your bird (s) stimulation and companionship through its life. It is not an impulse buy but a long and researched decision that must be decided on as a family. Everyone must want the bird and be willing to take care of it. You cannot live it all alone if you decide you want a vacation and you need to be with it 2 hours a day.       One Or Two?    It really depends on how much time your are willing to spend with the bird and how much you can spend on it. If you are not able to let the bird out for 2 hours (supervised) a day and must be able to interact and play with it as well and if you are at work or school for more than 6 hours a day then I suggest you buy two for it will get lonely. Taming is another issue. Two birds are harder to tame than one so how patient and how much time you have to tame them will depend on buying one or two. Money is another. It is common sense that with two birds the costs will double so you must be sure you have enough money. The last issue is bondness. If you want the bird to bond to you and treat you like its mate, then one is better. Two are likely to bond to each other and only tolerate although you can get both tame they wont want to be with you as much as one would. You can always buy one budgie then see how if you can fulfill its need for companionship, and if you cannot then you can get another one. If you decide to buy another one later in life, then you must quarantine the new bird first. Quarantine means it must be kept in a different cage and in a different room, as far away as possible, for at least 30 days, 90 is better. During this quarantine period wash your hands before and after you handle each bird. Quarantine is done so if the new bird has any illness it should be visible to your eye within the 30 days and therefore letting you treat the illness before it can affect your old bird. They should be introduced on grounds they've never been on and tiff they get along must be  put in a new cage so there are no dominance issues. Also when buying three, sometimes one is the "third wheel" and is often neglected from the other budgies so watch out for that but there some that work out fine.      Female or Male?   It really depends on the characteristic you want for your bird. Males are said to talk and make more noise than females but there are some females that will talk given patience and instruction. Females are more  aggressive than most males but there are some that are very cuddly. Also females sometimes lay eggs even without males so if  you don't want a female that MAY lay eggs then buy a male. The last thing is the care color. The cere is the piece above the beak. If you want a certain color then buy the sex that fits the color. Its also one way you can sex your budgie although if you have a lutino, albino or a recessive you cannot sex it this way (you would need a DNA sexing that is available at most Avian vets to sex these mutations, it costs around 60 dollars but prices vary on your location) The cere is usually bluish or purple then its a male, if the cere is beige, tan, brown, red or pink then its a female. The cere does sometimes change color until it reaches its final color around 8 months to a year so you may think you have a male until the cere reaches its final color and its a female. There is another way to sex your budgies. If a budgie lays eggs then its a female although remember that females do not always lay eggs.     Young Or Old?   Younger budgies do take less time to tame and can be taught to speak quicker. Older budgies take more time but are just as enjoyable as younger ones. Do not buy a budgie before 2 months of age for they are not completely weaned yet and still need their parents. To tell the age of a budgie is fairly easy. There are three ways to do this. The first is to look at its barrings. The barrings (black lines on its head) on its head will reach all the way to its cere if it is 4 months or under. If the barrings stop at the forehead then it is more than 4 months. Another way is if the budgie's eye is completely black then it is 4 months or under, if you can see an a light colored iris then it is older than 4 months The only mutations that don't follow this rule are lutinos and albinos for they have red eyes so the ring's color is a light red not white. Also recessives will have black eyes their whole lives. The last way only works if your bird is banded. The different color bands represent different years in which your budgie was born on: Red- '93. Blue-'94 Black-'95 Gold-'96 Silver-'97 Green-'98 Orange-'99 Light Blue-2000 *The Banding only works if the issuer uses this colors. Pet store-Banded Birds may not.