by Richard Risebrow
It is with some trepidation that I respond to the request to
submit an article on the breeding of Yellow-Wings as I consider
the top breeder of this color is a member of Clwyd Budgerigar
Society.
However, not all breeders have the same viewpoint and manage
their stock with varying degrees of success and as a result it
is hoped that my contribution will, at the very least, be
provocative.
For the uninitiated the Yellow-Wing is the green series of the
Clearwing variety of budgerigars, needless to say the White-Wing
is the blue series. In terms of color the variety follows the
color of a normal in that it produces Light, Dark, Grey-Green
and Olive although the latter two are less common on the show
bench. For showing purposes a Yellow-Wing must be a "normal",
but variations of the color are found with Opaline and Cinnamon
tendencies. At present these varieties do not conform to the
color standard of the Budgerigar Society. In fact it is the
inconsistency of judging with regard to cinnamon clearwings
which is currently causing confusion and concern within the
fancy.
The first clearwings were exhibited in this country in 1937 and
immediately became a focus of attention with their depth of body
color and purity of wing. After the war, interest in the variety
continued and eventually in 1963 The Clearwing Budgerigar
Breeders Association was formed and today is one of the largest
of the specialist societies.
I pressed, I must admit that I prefer the Yellow-Wing to the
White-Wing, but perhaps it is because we have always produced
better birds of that color. Actually our first pair comprised of
a cobalt White-Wing paired with a Whit/Blue. Having later
acquired a pair of Yellow-Wings from a local fancier we were
beginning to build a line of winning clearwings at local shows
as beginners.
However, we soon realized that if we were to progress to the top
we needed an injection of new blood. We had been impressed with
the birds exhibited in the early eighties by Ron Payne and
because his stud had been acquired by the Amos & Thumwood
partnership we decided to make the trip to
In the breeding of Yellow-Wings one is looking to produce a bird
of good size with a contrast of body color and carrying wings
with hardly any markings at all. The difficulty is that efforts
to increase size invariably result in "dirty"wings and
vice-versa. Over the years we have been advocates in the use of
yellows with resulting success and I recommend this approach as
opposed to dabbling with normals.
Obviously the best pairing is Yellow-Wing and if possible
pairing a Dark Factor (DK Green) to Light Factor (LT Green) in
order to retain the contrast in body color. Beware of birds with
pale body color and a pale violet cheek patch, these are almost
certain to be cinnamon Yellow-Wings. A further check can be made
on the feet when compared to a normal clearwing they have a pink
appearance.
On the showbench a Yellow-Wing correctly prepared looks quite
stunning. Before a major show the birds are placed in stock
cages for at least a month were they receive a daily spray of
tepid water. Three days before the show the heads are shampooed
with a baby shampoo, tails laid flat on the worktop and brushed
with a toothbrush dipped in shampoo.
Apart from the Club Show we almost refuse to exhibit unless it
is a one-day show. For more than one day we take soaked groats
and millet sprays with us as I firmly believe birds suffer a
great deal of stress as a result of showing. A fact
substantiated in that all our "top-drawer" birds have not lived
as long as their relatives which stay at home.
In conclusion I would recommend, especially beginners, the
breeding of Clearwings. They are generally prolific breeders and
in the main good parents and you don't even have the fiddling
job of de-spotting before a show.
