aussie grass parakeets

[cateyes221981]

hello i am from sacramento ca and was going to bring my gouldians inside for the winter are aussie grass parakeets more hardy then finches as in can they handle cooler weather the way budgies and cockatiels can?

[jusdeb]

Yes if they have been aviary bred and are local birds used to the outside temps.

[cateyes221981]

what do parakeets and hookbills have that finches dont like why are they so cold hardy while aussie finches cant take the cold well?

[E Orix]

Far bigger body mass.The bigger the body of bird the better it will cope with lower temperatures.
The other major factor is air movement.If the bird has to put up with drafts then this will cause severe problems as the bird will suffer body heat loss at a far greater rate.I guess similar to wind chill factor.
Also Gouldians do not have secondary down(feathers) which would normally hold in the warm air trapped by outer feathers

[Buzzard-1]

Birds evolve to be able to survive in certain areas. As what was said earlier gouldians only have primary feathers.

[cateyes221981]

do all parakeets have secondary down feathers?


but i have seen many tiny birds playing in the snow in winter like black capped chickadees and sparrows so size must not have much to do with it

[E Orix]

As far as I am aware all Parrots have down.
You are correct about birds surviving in the snow.
Compared to Australian,Asian and the majority of African species those birds are quite heavy bodied and feathered and have evolved to
counter cold temperatures.As I have no desire to get anywhere near snow I can't view first hand but I would presume that they would be well out of any windy weather.I would also presume that their metabolism would change in the cold temp.