Acquired: Pet store
Gender: Male
My mum brought a baby budgie home when I was about 10 and we called him Harry. He was already hand tame and had his wing clipped so after a while when he got used to our family and getting on our fingers we let him out of the cage.
After a while his wing grew back and he loved to fly around and hang out with us.
He learned to mimic words and tunes very easily. He also imitated mums laugh and always seemed to do it when there was tension between us which lightened the mood.
Now 18 years later, I bought another budgie called Toby. This time it wasn't hand tamed and I'm only just at the point where he will sit on my finger. He has been out of his cage a few times but doesn't seem as eager to fly around as Harry did. He's quite content just talking away to his bells in the cage. He has learned a few basic whistles and a couple of words so far but seems to be progressing more and more each day.
Budgies can require a lot of time and attention to train them and get them to trust and interact with the family, but the end result is so worth it.
They become a valued part of the family and seem just like little people!