Budgies love music and are known to dance to upbeat tunes and bob their heads along with the rhythm.
You may even find your budgie mimicking your favorite song or whistling the base tune. Budgies respond more positively to music they already like, so it’s worth narrowing down your budgie’s favorites.
Budgies have preferred songs, instruments, and genres. Most budgies like classical, R&B, and pop music because these genres have a steady, predictable beat and a diverse range of sounds.
They like fun and upbeat songs but respond best to calming instrumentals or gentle vocals.
Budgies dislike music that’s too loud, intense, or jarring. For this reason, while some budgies enjoy rock and rap music, most don’t. You can introduce these genres only if the songs are calmer than average.
Electronic music and heavy metal are too intense, leaving a budgie feeling overwhelmed.
What Music Do Budgies Like?
Most budgies enjoy calm and comforting music.
Budgies can be easily startled by loud or jarring noises or confused by an onslaught of sounds. Obviously, that can make dubstep or heavy metal a poor choice for budgies.
Instead, most budgies enjoy listening to soothing classical music, as this tends to be simple, coherent, and well resolved. From a musical perspective, the rhythm is predictable and not jarring.
Some owners report piano or violin being favored. These instruments are soothing but still complex enough to interest the budgie.
What budgies appreciate most about their music is a diversity of sounds. According to Cognitive Science, budgies can understand various aspects of music, such as melody and rhythm.
They’ll enjoy vocals, instrumentals, and different volumes that change up the song’s natural flow. To a budgie, it registers like an interesting new call from an interesting new bird.
Budgies also like music that acts as background noise. This will be reminiscent of dwelling in a large flock, making a budgie feel comfortable and safe in the immersive auditory experience.
Do Budgies Understand Music Genres?
Budgies can’t tell the difference between different genres, but they may like the diversity of different sounds. Like all birds, budgies have extraordinary hearing abilities.
In particular, budgies can distinguish subtle differences in tone, accent, and rhythm. These abilities can be seen most readily in budgies’ singing and chirping behavior, which leads to complex sounds.
Individual budgies show unique musical preferences. It’s no different than how one budgie may learn human words from you while another mimics the doorbell or beeping of the microwave.
Do Budgies Like Pop Music?
Even though pop music isn’t serene, many budgies love listening to it. Anecdotal evidence from owners suggests that pop music is one of their favorite genres.
Pop music has an engaging and repetitive beat that budgies can easily grasp. Due to their inherent understanding of rhythm, pop music causes budgies to bob their heads. This action easily segues into dancing, so they learn to love the song.
Do Budgies Like Rock Music?
Most budgies dislike rock music. As a genre, it’s too loud, harsh, and unpredictable for budgies to follow. This could even startle a budgie and disorient it, causing it to become anxious and scared. For these reasons, most budgies don’t like electronic music either.
Of course, there are rare exceptions. Some budgies learn to enjoy the diverse range of sounds and the heavy rhythm. That’s especially true if you have the best rock albums on repeat in your home. A budgie may receive enough exposure to begin predicting the patterns.
If you want to train your budgie to like rock music, start with gentler songs and work up. Keep the volume low so that the budgie learns to recognize the music as calm and non-threatening.
Do Budgies Like Rap Music?
Budgies are vocal parrots, meaning they can easily pick out and mimic the patterns in sounds. If you play rap music, they’ll try and copy it.
However, a rap song that is too fast-paced and unpredictable may be too difficult for a budgie to keep up with. It’ll come across as a jumbled collection of sounds. Depending on the instrumentals, it may also be jarring to a budgie, setting it on edge.
For this reason, choose rap songs that are slower and smoother. You can even start with music closer to R&B, so the budgie can learn to adapt.
Comforting Music for Budgies
Due to their affinity for picking out predictable sound patterns, comforting music for budgies includes instrumentals and vocals. You can turn on piano instrumentals or some tunes that aren’t too intense.
Here are the benefits of playing comforting music for budgies:
- Calms it down
- Makes budgies happier
- Assists with bonding activity
- Keeps them busy and distracted
- Increases social activity
- Makes budgies more playful
Do Budgies Like When You Sing to Them?
Budgies love it when their owners sing to them because it mimics the natural behavior of budgies speaking to and entertaining each other in the wild.
According to PLOS ONE, parrots develop unique calls for one another and learn to recognize specific sounds from their favorite avian companions.
If you sing to your budgie, it’ll believe that you’re addressing it specifically with a lovely tune that you find entertaining. Then, a budgie may learn this sound from you.
Wild budgies ousted from their original flock will search out a new one and adapt to that new flock’s sounds. This allows the budgie to better integrate with its new family.
So, a budgie will mimic your sound for the same reasons, which is believed to be the main reason why budgies can mimic human sounds.
Can Budgies Sleep with Music?
Music can be too immersive for your budgie and prevent it from sleeping.
As flock animals, parrots associate background noise with a lively and active flock during the day. Budgies have adapted to prefer silence when sleeping, as this allows them to remain alert in case of threats.
However, the situation varies from budgie to budgie. Some may be capable of sleeping through music, provided it’s not loud enough to awaken them.
If you want to play music during the night, keep the volume low. You can also drape a blanket over your budgie’s cage to dampen its exposure to the higher sound frequencies.
Why Do Budgies Chirp to Music?
If you find your budgie chirping to your music, it means the budgie likes the music and expresses it by mimicking the sound via chirps. It’s having such a good time that it wants to learn the melody.
Male budgies show off to females by chirping and singing. The more interesting a male’s chirps, the more likely it is for a female to be attracted to it.
Moreover, male budgies often show their intelligence to female budgies by mimicking complex sounds they hear in their everyday environment. Often, that’s a piece of music they’ve heard.
Do Budgies Dance To Music?
According to Current Biology, budgies are compelled to dance when they hear certain music. Researchers termed this as ‘spontaneous movement to music,’ a reaction previously thought to be unique to humans.
When your budgie hears a good beat, it feels the need to jig. The above study determined that budgies have unique rhythms in courting dances. Budgies dance based on instinct rather than conscious planning of how to dance.
So, budgies aren’t just mimicking dances they’ve seen. Instead, they’re developing their own dance moves based on what feels and looks best.
That’s a strong indicator that your budgie isn’t just tolerating the music or exclusively trying to impress you. Instead, it’s actively immersed and enjoying the beat.
Budgies and Loud Music
Loud music isn’t normally enjoyable to budgies as it can cause stress and anxiety.
In the wild, a loud noise or a cacophony of jarring sounds often means bad things, such as a predator, heavy storm, or panic among the flock.
Of course, some budgies become used to loud music and learn to enjoy it after enough exposure. However, most budgies will find it intimidating.
If your budgie is sensitive, it’s better to err on the side of caution and turn down the music. Overexposing your budgie to noisy music could result in chronic stress.
If music is too loud, your budgie may display the following signs:
- Raised wings
- Fighting
- Complete silence
- Refusing to eat
- Plucking their feathers
- Sitting at the bottom of the cage
Music shouldn’t be played too softly either. Budgies prefer the music to be loud enough for them to listen carefully and pick out the melodies.
How To Introduce Budgies To Music
When exposing your budgie to different kinds of music, start slowly and build up over time. Forcing your budgie to listen to different genres and songs in a single sitting can be overwhelming.
For example, you can start with calming, more predictable music. Then, slowly introduce the budgie to more diverse genres, such as rock and rap.
If your budgie has a calm temperament, it’s likely to enjoy classical or more soothing tunes. However, if your budgie has a more excitable personality, it’ll likely enjoy up-beat tunes that it can dance to.
Budgies’ Favorite Music
Individual budgies can grow to like other kinds of music, depending on their personality and the frequency of exposure. The best way to tell what your budgie likes is to monitor its reactions.
If you see it responding in this way, it enjoys the song:
- Opening its beak to sing
- Vocalizations
- Bobbing its head
- Dancing
Over time, a budgie can develop distinct musical tastes, depending on its personality and exposure. It could surprise you, preferring a unique genre, such as rock or rap.
If you want your budgie to like your favorite song or genre, you can help it warm up to the music. For instance, you can dance in front of your budgie whenever the song plays.
The more it dances and the more closely it bonds with you, the more it will associate happy times with that song. Then, it may start to look forward to hearing it.
