Obstacle Course Parakeet Newest Budgie Genius [Video]

An obstacle course running parakeet is the newest budgie bird genius to become a video sensation. The light blue charmer squeezes through tunnels, climbs up ladders, runs a maze, and much, more more to get to the finish line — where the feathered cutie seems very reluctant to end the game.

A bird by any name would be just as cute, and the talented Australian parakeet species known to pet owners as the budgerigar may be especially so. The pocket-sized parrots have gained worldwide popularity as the number one most popular pet parrot — and, perhaps, the number one most popular pet bird of them all.

They come in a variety of colors, they’re small and easy to handle, and they’re smart as the dickens if you train them early enough.

Awhile back, a New York budgie named Disco burst into You Tube stardom with his amazing vocabulary in a variety of languages including English, Japanese, Swedish, cat, and dog. We featured his hilarious “Define Parakeet” video, but he has many, many more on his own “Disco the Parakeet” channel.

And Disco isn’t even the Guinness Book of Records holder for biggest budgie vocabulary. That honor belongs to a parakeet named Puck, who allegedly speaks a mind-boggling 1,700 words.

Despite the tiny size of the parakeet brain, which is organized quite differently from the mammalian brain, the obstacle-running bird can hold its own against any trained lab rat. Heck, this little blue bird can probably run an obstacle course faster than a lot of well-trained young human Marines in boot camp.

Check it out. You won’t find a better bird genius all day.

The new parakeet in town looks like a winner, but Disco is still the classic You Tube star of the talking budgies.

Which bird is more inspirational? I love Disco, but I believe I can actually teach my lovebird Nyota to copy the obstacle course parakeet’s smooth moves.

[parakeet photo by Jen Smith via flickr]