Budgies are also known as budgerigars or common parakeets. They're the only species in the genus Melopsittacus, with their scientific name being Melopsittacus undulatus. 'Lovebird' is a common name used to refer to the entire genus Agapornis, which contains 9 different species. Lovebird is the common name for the genus Agapornis, a small group of parrots in the Old World parrot family Psittaculidae. Of the nine species in the genus, all are native to the African continent, with the grey-headed lovebird being native to the African island of Madagascar.