Charlie Feathers Budgie Kingdom

Budgies are sexually dimorphic in only one way: the cere. The ceres of young budgies under 8-12 months are all about the same: a bright pink or violet color. As the budgie sexually matures, the cere changes according to the budgie's sex.

• Females - White/light-blue, tan, or brown cere. This is true for all varieties. With the development of brown color is a flaky texture. This can build up to be about a centimeter thick.
• Males -
  • Blue or purplish-blue cere in normal varieties only.
  • Bright violet or pink (does not change after youth) occurs in the following varieties: recessive pied, lutino/albino, dark-eyed clear, lacewing, and fallow

If your budgie is less than one year old, the above rules are not applicable. The cere usually begins to change before one year of age but appears relatively ambiguous. A younger budgie's cere can appear to be changing towards one sex and then change the other way upon full sexual maturity at one year of age. However if your young budgie's cere develops the brown flaky appearance characteristic of female budgies you can be sure it is a female. You can also look at behavior to determine gender. Males often bob their heads, sing, and are usually more active and outgoing. Females are usually snitty and bossy over other budgies in the cage, and rarely sing. Females also usually make loud mad budgie sounds. Males sometimes make this sound too, but usually only when singing. If your budgie makes mad budgie sounds often it is most likely a female. 

Brown Flaky Cere	Tan Cere	Pale Blue/White Cere

Blue Cere - Normal Varieties	Purple Cere - See Varieties Listed Above.

Normal Male on the left. Normal Female on the right.

1) CAP FEATHERS - In most varieties, young budgies will have bars on their head all the way down to the cere. At about 3-4 months of age, a budgie will go through its first molt, and the top feathers on the head will be replaced and will no longer be striped. So a budgie with stripes down to the cere has not gone through its first molt and is less than 3-4 months old. A budgie with a white or yellow cap (depending on color variety) has gone through its first molt and is therefore older than 3-4 months.

EXCEPTIONS:
Lutino/Albino, Recessive Pied - These varieties do not have normal feather markings and therefore this age test cannot be applied to them.

EXAMPLES:

Barhead (less than 4 months)	Clear Cap (4 months or older)	Compare the older bird on the left and the younger bird on the right.

2) EYES - In most varieties, young budgies' eyes will be all black. As they get older, the iris gradually lightens to very light grey/brown. A budgie with a completely black eye is probably under 4 months old. A budgie with a dark grey iris is probably 4-8 months old. A budgie with a light grey or brown iris is probably older than 8 months.

EXCEPTIONS:
Lutino/Albino, Lacewing, Fallow - At all ages these red-eyed varieties always have a light colored (pink) iris.
Recessive Pied, Dark-Eyed Clear - These varieties always have dark plum eyes which do not change with age.

EXAMPLES:

All Black Eyes (0-4 months)	Very Dark Grey Irises (4-6 months)	Medium Grey Irises (6-8 months)

3) ID BAND - Some budgies have a band around one of its legs. If you look closely, you can see some numbers and letters. This is an ID band. If the band is blank with no letters or numbers, it is a "family band" and won't tell you anything about the bird, unless you are its breeder.

Reading an ID Band: One set of letters is the company who issued the band. The next set of numbers and letters is the breeder's number and/or initial(s). It is the next part will tell you how old your budgie is. It is the year the bird was hatched in. If the bird was bred in California, the last digit of the year will be inside a California Bear. Otherwise, usually the last two digits of the year are displayed. The next set of numbers is the serial or pedigree number of the bird. For example, if this number reads 52, then this bird is the 52nd budgie hatched that year to that breeder.

ID band color: An easier (but less reliable) way to tell what year the bird was born in is to look at what color the band is. Different colors represent different years and will tell you how many years old your bird is. However, different organizations which issue ID bands may use different colors than other organizations for the same year.