Are you worried that your budgie will forget you? Do budgies even have memories? In this article, we’ll discover the deepest depths of your budgie’s memory to fond out if you are stored there for years to come.
Will My Budgie Remember Me? Yes. Budgies are intelligent and are able to store emotional or vocal memories attached to their mates, surroundings and most of all, their favourite human companions. You will not be forgotten. Your budgie will fly to you or respond to your call if and when you return.
How Can My Budgie Remember Me?
Budgies have adapted to be one of the most intelligent birds. They remember the call of their mate up to 180 days in recent studies. Budgies have the ability to naturally parse memories into categories such as:
- shapes
- colours
- objects
- faces
- sounds
Budgies have been trained to remember up to:
- 100 words
- 50 objects
- 7 colours
- 5 shapes
- Counting single digit numbers
Do not underestimate the intelligence of your budgie. If you bonded together, spoke, interacted, played and built the trust, you can expect your budgie to remember you for months or years down the road.
Do Budgies Get Attached to Their Owners?
The attachment between a budgie and their closest human companion depends on many factors such as:
- length of time together
- time spent interacting
- positive or negative associations
- training
- vocal cues
- positive reinforcement
- strength of trust
If you only had your budgie for a few weeks and didn’t interact much together through play or communication, then don’t expect many memories to have been made, let alone remember.
Negative memories inflicting abuse or fear will remain in a budgie who will never trust the human associated with it. Those long days, trips, nights on the sofa and playtimes together will be remembered as bonding moments.
If you trained, tamed or provided vocal cues for your budgie to respond, then expect much of these memories to return with a little time, patience and practice.
Do Budgies Miss Their Owners When They’re Gone?
Budgies are social birds that become attached to their flock. Without a flock, you are the best and most important connection that is real and alive. They need you. They will miss you when you’re gone.
Missing you can lead to:
- anxiety
- depression
- loneliness
- lack of appetite
- plucking feathers
- panting
- disinterest
- lethargy
- illness
Your budgie hopes you will return soon. If not, a suitable home will be necessary if they have to move somewhere else. A new adjustment will bring on renewed sensations of stress or fear. A fellow budgie companion will help, but you will not be replaced in their memory.
What Can I Do To Help My Budgie When I’m Away?
Your budgie will need things to do and company to keep. Another budgie or two would be great. Make sure someone is coming over to visit to keep the cage clean and dishes filled. Ask them to do so slowly to not alarm your lonely budgie. Try the following tips:
- a mirror
- toys
- recorded videos or music
- open the window (close the cage door)
Some people attest that mirrors do more harm than good. Your budgie may not fall for that trick of thinking there’s another bird on the other side of it. Gentle, soothing music or the sound of your voice can be recorded to be played back in a loop while you’re away.
Only open the window if the cage is firmly closed and possibly even locked. Some budgies can learn to open their own cage door. If there’s a screen on the window, even better. Your budgie will enjoy chirping back at birds it hears outside of the home.
Do Budgies Remember Their Previous Owners?
Imagine that you took on the ownership of a budgie through adoption or any other means. One day you find out that a previous owner has tracked you down and would like to visit their old budgie. Do you think your budgie will recognize this person?
Most likely, the answer is yes. Your budgie should remember positive or negative associations with the voice of this person and may detect their familiar facial features as well. Don’t be jealous. Be proud of how smart your budgie is.
How Do I Know If My Budgie Will Remember Me?
If you have a budgie that trusts you, has bonded with you, then chances are you are permanently stored in this budgie’s intelligent memory. This is why people love keeping budgies and becoming more than just owners. This is a true friendship.
Your budgie will remember you if he or she has spent time doing the following:
- follows you around
- sits on your finger
- perches on your shoulder or head
- tickles your ear
This list could get longer and funnier. Email us with your budgie stories of how your little bird has bonded with you. We would love to hear them!
How Long Does A Budgie Remember?
It’s practically impossible to tell how many days, months or years a budgie can remember details, faces and objects. Studies in the wild have shown that female budgies can recognize the call of their mate up to 180 days later.
Birds recognize each other through vocalization over everything else. This is why they have so many distinct sounds. They can also remember the sound of your voice over weeks, months and years of time spent together in your home.
Conclusion
Do not be concerned that your budgie will forget you. You are engrained in the memory of your budgie for all the effort, love and attention you have given. The moments of perching on you is not lost.
If you return to your budgie, allow him or her to fly to you once again and rekindle the friendship that took time, patience and effort to build. Your budgie should answer your call and hopefully the two of you will reunite.
Thank you for visiting BudgieRealm.com for another article on these spectacularly intelligent birds. We hope to see you again soon for another article that interests you about budgies. Bye for now!
