Budgerigar

Melopsittacus undulatus Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittaculidae (Old World Parrots)
Melopsittacus undulatus Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittaculidae (Old World Parrots)

The adorable budgie, native to Australia, is more well-known by Americans as a cage bird than a wild species. And it is in its role as a pet that this species has two entries in the Guinness Book of World Records:

Budgerigar (Puck): Largest vocabulary for a bird ever. The bird with the largest vocabulary was a budgerigar, Puck, owned by Camille Jordan of Petaluma, California, USA, who knew an estimated 1728 words before its death in 1994.

Budgerigar (Oskar): Largest vocabulary for a bird living. The bird with the largest vocabulary is a budgerigar, Oskar, owned by Gabriela Danisch of Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, who knows and can say 148 words as ascertained on 8 Sep 2010.

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