May 7, 2007 – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo visitors became quite familiar with Australian lingo last summer. Words like wallabies, joey, ‘roos, walkabout, Vegemite and g’day mate. It was one of the most fun and successful seasons ever. So much fun, in fact, that the Australian theme will make an encore appearance this summer with the opening of “Budgie Buddies.”. The exhibit, housed in the Zoo’s fully renovated Naked Mole Rat building, will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 11, 2007.

Visitors will need to brush up on their Aussie slang, because the Summer 2007 star attraction will be a flock of budgies. Budgies? Yanks over here know them better as parakeets. In the wilds of Australia budgies are everywhere. The word budgie is short for budgerigar – the indigenous green and yellow bird of Australia. And they don't occur naturally anywhere else in the world.

But the “Budgie Buddies” experience is more than just seeing lots of birds. Imagine being in an indoor, walk-thru aviary surrounded by more than a hundred free-flight Australian budgies, Australian finches, cockatiels and princess parrots – and having a bird or two land on your arm or shoulder to nibble on a seed stick, which will be available for $1.

And making a return engagement for the summer will be the hugely popular wallabies, along with a couple of baby “joeys” that kids can meet and touch. The marsupials, a mix of Parma and Bennett’s wallabies, will be located in the same area of the Zoo as last year – across from the elephant yard. And like last year, visitors will have to stay on the pathway while the wallabies can go wherever they please, which might very well be on the sidewalk in front of you or the grass next to you! The budgies will be located adjacent to the wallabies, in their newly spruced up digs.

“Budgie Buddies,” landing on an arm near you!