Why

Banana is a soft, easy first fruit that most budgies take to quickly, and it delivers a useful hit of potassium, vitamin B6 and a little magnesium. The trade-off is sugar, as banana is one of the sweeter fruits, so it stays firmly in treat territory. Because it is so soft it is gentle on a tiny beak and handy for tempting a nervous or fussy bird into trying fresh food for the first time.

How to feed it

Peel the banana and mash or cut a small piece the size of your fingernail, then offer it in a shallow dish. It goes brown and sticky fast, so remove any uneaten banana within a couple of hours to keep the cage clean and stop it fouling feathers.

How much & how often

A piece no bigger than a fingernail, two or three times a week, is plenty for a 30g budgie. Its high sugar content means it should be an occasional snack, never a daily staple.