Western PA looks like a parakeet? (1 Viewer)

[Jimbobigdude]

Need asssistance in identifying this beautiful bird. First time we ever saw a bird like this at our feeders. Soon after, we saw a blue one in our apple tree. I told my wife that it looks like someone’s pet bird got out, but then we saw the blue one so they must be traveling together. Thank you for the help. Jom

 

[Butty]

It's a pet budgie.

 

[Jimbobigdude]

Thank you! This is probably going to sound silly, but does that mean it’s actually someone’s pet? And we’ve never seen these birds in the 10 years we’ve been feeding them. Are they common in western PA?

 

[KC Foggin]

It's probably an escapee from a nearby neighbor.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Jimbob and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[Jimbobigdude]

Thank you! We love our birds (and groundhogs, and squirrels, and deer, and……..)

 

[Jimbobigdude]

It's probably an escapee from a nearby neighbor.

Ugh… that’s what I was worried about. I posted it on a local Facebook page, so hopefully the owners will see it. Thank you for the reply.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Did you know that in the wild, with rare exceptions no doubt, Budgies only occur in Green, not yellow or Blue

 

[njlarsen]

Did you know that in the wild, with rare exceptions no doubt, Budgies only occur in Green, not yellow or Blue

Some years ago (and before I started visiting) there was a recognized naturalized population of budgies in Florida. The origin obviously was from escapes but it was recognized "wild". Would such a population revert to green over time or do they continue carrying the color mutations from the breeding they had been through? was the lack of becoming green a reason for them to eventually die out?
Niels

 

[THE_FERN]

Did you know that in the wild, with rare exceptions no doubt, Budgies only occur in Green, not yellow or Blue

Got to say it's the colour variant I prefer!

 

[Butty]

The OP's bird may be basically green, but its plumage is still very different from wild-type birds.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Some years ago (and before I started visiting) there was a recognized naturalized population of budgies in Florida. The origin obviously was from escapes but it was recognized "wild". Would such a population revert to green over time or do they continue carrying the color mutations from the breeding they had been through? was the lack of becoming green a reason for them to eventually die out?
Niels

Absolutely no idea but I'd say probably no, the coulour genes in the feral flock would just bounce around without the injection of wildstock but I'm not a geneologist.

 

[Jimbobigdude]

It's probably an escapee from a nearby neighbor.

Well, we haven’t seen the two birds around except for the first couple of days when I first posted. Hoping they made it back home to their keeper. Thx for all of the replies and assistance. Jim

 

[KC Foggin]

Fingers crossed they are back home and you are quite welcome

 

[nartreb]

Absolutely no idea but I'd say probably no, the coulour genes in the feral flock would just bounce around without the injection of wildstock but I'm not a geneologist.

Interesting question. I suspect that natural selection for color is not especially strong in many bird species, or else Northern Cardinals would be rare. (Of course, I don't know what they look like to predators like hawks that see into the ultra-violet, or cats that are largely color-blind.) So I wouldn't bet on the non-green birds dying out, and if ever a green gene does get introduced, it might not spread in the population.

I don't know whether the green genes are completely extinguished in the domestic populations. In theory, the green gene (or group of genes) might be recessive. But that doesn't seem likely, you'd see green domestic budgies hatching all the time. More likely the feral population can't create green offspring any more, and wont' be able to unless a one-in-a-million mutation restores the original functionality of the green gene. And that's assuming the change from green to yellow was due to a small change in the green pigment gene, not a total deletion of it.

 

[Butty]

I suspect that natural selection for color is not especially strong in many bird species, or else Northern Cardinals would be rare.

Not at all. You're ignoring the power of the selective force that keeps the males red, viz. sex.

 

[jurek]

Some years ago (and before I started visiting) there was a recognized naturalized population of budgies in Florida. The origin obviously was from escapes but it was recognized "wild". Would such a population revert to green over time or do they continue carrying the color mutations from the breeding they had been through? was the lack of becoming green a reason for them to eventually die out?
Niels

I think this particular population never reverted to wild color before they died out.

However, feral populations of pigeons revert to wild-type color quite fast. It is because predators target a bird which stands out in a flock, to concentrate on one particular target. So if such a population of budgies persisted for much longer, it would quite likely revert to the wild-type green color. Green budgies are still common in cages, and possibly by crossing different mutants, wild type genes would also pick up.

 

[Butty]

feral populations of pigeons revert to wild-type color quite fast

Really? I've never heard of that and would - personally - doubt it. Do you have a source/evidence for that?

It is because predators target a bird which stands out in a flock, to concentrate on one particular target.

But... flocks of feral pigeons are a random assortment of birds of all manner of colours/patterns - so (more or less) no one bird will stand out - so there is (more or less) no such selective predator-pressure.