Types of Feathers on a Budgie

A budgie has between 2,000 and 3,000 feathers, and they vary in size, shape and color. Each kind serves a specific purpose. Some feathers enable flight, while others are primarily for decoration. Budgies have two kinds of feathers: vaned and down. Vaned feathers have a stiff shaft in the center and include flight feathers, tail feathers and the contour feathers that cover the budgie's body. Down feathers are shorter and fluffier than vaned feathers, and include the small feathers found underneath the larger vaned feathers.

  1. Blood Feathers

    • Also called pin feathers, blood feathers are immature feathers that are filled with blood. They can be identified by looking for red inside the shaft, as opposed to the clear or white shaft of mature feathers. The blood feathers should never be cut, because they can bleed profusely. If a blood feather is accidentally cut, it must be removed from the budgie's body with tweezers.

    Flight Feathers

    • The flight feathers are located on a budgie's wings and enable it to fly. The primary flight feathers are long feathers at the edge of the budgie's wing that allow the bird to move forward. The secondary flight feathers provide lift, and are located between the primary flight feathers and the body. There is also a layer of shorter feathers called the primary coverts. Wing trimming usually involves clipping the first six to eight primary flight feathers to allow the budgie to flutter without flying away.

    Body Feathers

    • The feathers covering the chest and stomach areas on the front of the budgie are called the body feathers. The feathers on the chest are often short and downy. A budgie uses these downy feathers to insulate its body, by puffing the feathers up to trap air underneath them to prevent heat loss. The down feathers are about a quarter of an inch in length and are the feathers closest to the budgie's body. Another kind of body feather, the contour feather, is colored and provides decoration and warmth.

    Mask Feathers

    • The mask feathers are the mostly clear feathers that cover a budgie's face, including the area just above the beak and on each side of the beak, where the cheeks would be on a human. They also cover the cere, which is the fleshy tissue containing the nares, or nostrils. In budgies, the base color is usually present in the mask feathers. For example, a budgie with yellow-based coloring (the original coloring of budgies in the wild) would have yellow present in its mask feathers.