By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
April 9, 2021 at 10:00 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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Behind the door to a large outdoor cage, tiny birds in shades of greenish yellows, blues and other colors perch, flutter and chirp.
The facility at the Snow Brand Kodomo-no-Kuni Ranch in Yokohama’s Aoba Ward, which measures roughly 330 square meters in size, is home to about 200 budgerigars, commonly known as budgies, according to attendant Haruki Sugita.
There are aisles inside the cage so visitors can look up close. But the chatty birds don’t hop on their shoulders or hands, or mimic human speech like pet parakeets.
Budgerigars are small birds, usually about 20 centimeters long. They live in groups in grasslands, wooded areas and other parts of arid regions in Australia.
The birds are robust and can be easily tamed, making them a popular pet. They communicate with each other by chirping.
The original species is green in color, while those in blue, purple, yellow and white have been genetically modified.
It is easier to tell if a budgie is male or female by appearance when it grows into an adult. Generally, the cere, or the area at the base of the bird’s beak, is blue in males, while the color is pink in females.
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