Japanese

Japanese budgerigar usually refers to the Hagoromo or Japanese crested budgie, a fancy variety of Melopsittacus undulatus developed in Japan from crested and selected feather-direction lines. Many birds show decorative feather whorls or wing-like rosettes on the shoulders and back, often paired with a crest on the head, which gives some the nickname helicopter budgie. The underlying bird is still a budgerigar and can occur in many familiar colors, including blue, pied, cinnamon, clearwing, albino, and lutino.

These birds need ordinary budgie care, but the decorative feathering deserves extra attention. Feathers should not cover the eyes, trap dirt, or interfere with normal flight and balance. Breeders working with Hagoromo lines tend to pair for even rosettes, healthy crests, fertility, and good temperament, because exaggerated feather features can become a welfare problem. Buyers should distinguish a Japanese or Hagoromo-type bird from a standard crested budgie, and should judge the bird's activity and breathing before its novelty.

Colors: Albino, Albino Grey-Green, Anthracite, Australian Pied, Australian Yellow, Blue, Cinnamon, Clearwing, Clearwing-Opaline, Crested, Danish Recessive Pied, Dark-Eyed Clear, Double-Factor Spangle, Dutch Pied, English Yellow, Fallow, Grey, Half-Sider, Harlequin, Lacewing, Lutino, Lutino-Cinnamon, Normal/Wild Type, Opaline, Opaline-Cinnamon, Pied, Rainbow, Slate, Spangle, Texas Clearbody, Violet, White Face, Yellow Face, Yellow Face Blue