wvenable@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) (11/20/90)
In article <958@cfiprod.UUCP> susans@cfi.COM (susans) writes: > Stewart: I have read and found very useful all of your postings, > and now have a question: aren't cockatiels from the same area > that budgies are? Therefore, wouldn't their native diet be very > similar to the native diet of budgies? Also, haven't cockatiels > been domesticated for a long, long time? Pardon my intrusion (this isn't Stewart) but I may be able to help. The distribution maps of Budgerigars and of Cockatiels in the wild are indeed similar: virtually the whole of Australia; but as this is an area comparable to continental US (excluding Alaska) there is not much you can conclude from that about their normal diets. Cockatiels are found near country towns and farms much more commonly than Budgerigars, suggesting that they have adapted to eating the larger imported grains much more readily than Budgerigars. However both are gregarious and very nomadic (not migratory, though), and essentially, seed eaters. They follow the ephemeral waterholes and seeding grasses in the red centre. A few bits of trivia: John Gould took some captive Budgerigars to England after his 1839 voyage to Australia, and these are thought to have been the first caged Budgerigars. They were an instant hit and have remained so, apparently. The name "Budgerigar" is supposed to be an Aranda/Pidjinjintjarra word (Central Australia) meaning "good food" (yes, really!). Nestling Budgerigars are still considered something of a delicacy by these desert people. So next time you go near your pets, don't call them "Budgerigars" too loudly, or they will think you are saying "yum yum"! -- Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: venables@spam.adelaide.edu.au Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Phone: +61 8 228 5412