However, Bendigo Budgerigar and Caged Bird Society records show that Mr Baker had been a member since 1954, so he was involved before taking over the breeding. He is a walking encyclopaedia on a native Australian bird bred in captivity to a stage that many bear little resemblance to the yellow and green creatures in the wild.

The budgerigar craze of the 1950s, in which almost every household had at least one bird, resulted in widespread trapping of wild birds in South Australia.

“If anyone wants to know anything about budgerigars, we are holding an exhibition in the Girl Guides Hall close to the hospital on Sunday from 10am to 2pm,” Mr Baker said.

“The beauty about having budgerigars is that they are low maintenance and cost a few cents a day to feed.”

In the wild, birds with variant colours were attacked by predators as they had no natural camouflage.

Breeding them in captivity allowed selection for a range of colours.