Parakeet

Parakeet - Spec.Name: Psitacula Eupatria

The term Grass Parakeet (or Grasskeet) refers to a large number of small temp Australian parakeets native to grasslands such as Neophema and Princess Parrot. The Australian rosellas are also parakeets. Many of the smaller, long-tailed species of lories may be referred to as lorikeets.

The term Ringnecked Parakeet refers to a species of the Psittacula genus native to Africa and Asia that is popular as a pet and has become feral in many cities. It should not be confused with the Australian Ringneck.

In aviculture the term conure is used for small to medium sized parakeets of the genera Aratinga, Pyrrhura, and a few other genere of the tribe Arini, which are mainly endemic to South America. As they are not all from one genus, taxonomists tend to dislike the term.
Other South American species commonly called parakeets include the Brotogeris parakeets, Monk Parakeet and Lineolated Parakeets (although Lineolated Parakeets have short tails).
Some species, especially the larger parakeets, may be referred to as "parrot" or "parakeet" interchangeably. For example, Alexandrine Parrot and Alexandrine Parakeet are different names for the same species, (Psittacula eupatria), one of the largest species called a parakeet.

Many different species of parakeets are often bred and sold commercially as pets, the Budgerigar being among the most commonly sold in the U.S.

Breeding
Originally, parakeets were only available in shades of yellow and green; the albino lutino, a yellow bird with pink eyes and white cheeks, appeared only as a mutation. Albinos are genetic mutations, unpredictable and unplannable for in breeding.

The blue-and-white color combinations arise when the gene for color is double-recessive. The gene for blue is "hidden" in the green gene, if it is present, and there is no way to know for sure until the birds are mated. There is no way to tell if a green parakeet's color genes are both green, or if the green bird has one green and one hidden blue gene. Therefore, it is difficult to get blue parakeets from green ones. It is not possible to get green parakeets from blue ones. Once a pair of blues is mated, that color is the only one that will be produced, with some hue variations. If you were to mate a blue parakeet with a green one, though, the results could be either green or blue.
Once the blues had initially grown in population and popularity, they were bred with the green-yellow birds, producing even more color variations, including multicolors, lighter-colored stripes (cinnamons), and shades of gray mixed with both colors. With an understanding of genetics, breeders have been able to generate parakeets in almost every imaginable color combination, producing an unlimited number of colorful birds.