by the late E. C. Jenkins
The following article was first published in the Budgerigar Bulletin of December 1964 and although it has been produced almost in its entire form, certain changes were made in 1974 to bring it up to date.
If one wishes to produce Yellow-wing and Whitewings irrespective of show-winning points, the easy way is to mate Yellow-wing to Whitewing and Whitewing to Yellow-wing. In this way birds will be bred, many of them Yellow-wings, from which successive pairings among the resulting stock will produce both Yellow-wings and Whitewings.
Nothing is so deceptive as a general statement. There is no doubt that the eventual method may prove to be just that which I have mentioned, but only when a much higher standard of bird is being regularly bred. Today there can be few breeders who are in a position to mate on such simple lines, and even those that can do this, perhaps with one or two pairs, eventually find that their youngsters gradually lose size and are not in a position to challenge the exhibition standard birds on the show bench.
Thus one must, if starting with Clearwings, make a different approach to the problem of breeding birds which will, sooner or later, bear comparison with the better-class exhibits.
During the last fifteen years practically every method of breeding Clearwings has been tried. Certainly that is true of my own experience, and over that period out-crossing to normals in Greens and Blues, to Lutinos bred from one Yellow parent, to latterly, White Greys, both normal, Opaline, and even Cinnamon, has been attempted in an endeavour to bring up the size of Clearwings. That one can succeed in establishing size is perfectly true, but too often the success in gaining size is marred by the failings that these outcrosses inevitably produce, such as heavily marked wings and diminution of the bright body colour that is so necessary to give good contrast.
So the beginner who is taking up Clearwings for
the first time is fortunate in that there has been done over the years a lot
of preparatory work in establishing the best way to breed Clearwings.
The method which is most used by the old hands is the use of Yellows and White
paired to Whitewings and Yellow-wings. Necessarily, the Yellows
and Whites must be specially selected specimens, possessing size, head qualities,
and fair-to-good wing clarity. It is not suggested that there are
a lot of these birds about, but it is true to say that they can be obtained
with patience and perseverance. Often these birds are produced by
some of our leading normal and Opaline breeders from birds which carry the White
or Yellow in split form. One, perhaps two, are produced which have
the virtues of the normals or Opalines from whence they came. These
are the birds which are recommended to intending Clearwing breeders, and they
are well worth going to some trouble to get. One or two of these birds
make all the difference to the type of Clearwings produced, and the better the
White or Yellow so will the improvement in progeny soon become apparent.
The two most important, perhaps essential qualities one looks for in Whites and Yellows are, first, clear wings and second, overall size and head quality. Body suffusion is not all that important, and often the heavily suffused White or Yellow, the one showing a lot of blue and the other green, are better for the purpose than the lightly suffused Whites and Yellows.
I have long since discarded Cinnamon as far as Clearwings are concerned, and the use of Cinnamonwing Whites and Yellows is bound to leave the evidence of its use in the flight-ends, which are brownish in colour as against the desirable white or yellow. It takes a long time to eradicate this fault.
Opalines are to be used with discretion. There is little doubt the beneficial size and head qualities brought to Clearwing matings by utilising Opaline in Whites and Yellows, and from that angle they appear the ideal mate for Clearwings. Unfortunately, Opaline does blur the wing markings and detracts thereby from the clarity of wing so desirable to form a complete and attractive contrast between body colour and wings. If one does use Opaline because the bird has the head and size required, it is best to ensure that the progeny are mated to non-Opaline partners thereafter in order to reduce the characteristic Opaline markings from the wings.
To persons just commencing to breed Clearwings,
it would perhaps be better to confine matings to straight Whites and Yellows
and thus to continue until a little more experience has been obtained.
A certain amount of wastage of birds must be allowed for when utilising Whites
and Yellows with Clearwings, and inevitably a number must be discarded each
season, so that those which are retained are the youngsters which are visually
good in contrast, with fair size and head quality.
Every Clearwing mating to Yellows and Whites produces Clearwings, Whites and/or Yellows, according to the Clearwing used. Thus, a mating of White Mauve to Yellow-wing Light Green would give Yellow-wings, dark green in colour and Dark Yellows. Both would be split, the Dark Yellows for White only, and the Yellow-wings for both White and Whitewing.
Here a note of explanation about these splits. It is impossible to tell which Yellow-wing is split for White and which is split for Whitewing, so it is advised that breeders should treat all as being split for White. This is an excellent mating, and the Yellow-wing Dark Greens arising from it are usually of a deep and even dark green. Should the birds also have unmarked yellow wings, it does form a desirable contrast. All that is needed to make them really good exhibition types is the elusive head quality and overall substance.
Crossing over from Yellow-wing to White and from Whitewing to Yellow is most necessary in order that the properties of the non-Clearwings are passed over to the Clearwing offspring. This does happen, to some extent, and additionally the use of Yellow to a Whitewing helps to maintain clarity of wings.
Another mating to be recommended is White Cobalt to Yellow-wing Olive. A fairly deeply suffused White Cobalt undoubtedly helps to pass on even body-colour to the progeny, which in this case are Yellow-wing Dark Greens and Yellow-wing Olive Greens, along with Dark Yellows and Olive Yellows. All these birds would be split White (see note above) and could be of great assistance in the breeding pens.
The two most beautiful Clearwings
are the Whitewing Violet and the Yellow-wing Olive Green. It goes
without saying that they are also the hardest to breed up to the required standard
of perfection. To breed Whitewing Violets it is necessary to choose
the mating with discrimination. Here it has been found that Whitewing
Violet Mauve to White Skyblue has produced the best results, but it is hard
to find Whitewing Violet Mauves which are really good enough. Expectations
would be Whitewing Violets, Whitewing Cobalts, and Whites of these two colours.
One rarely sees a Whitewing Violet with really white wings, allied
to the deep pansy violet we all admire, but when the occasional good one does
appear it excites a lot of admiration. This is also true of the
buttercup-winged Yellow-wing Olive, rarely seen on the benches, but when some
Clearwing breeder is able to put one out it is something of an event.
There are several ways to breed these birds,
each having some merit. One method which seems to produce that deep brassy
body colour is the use of a Whitewing Violet or a Whitewing Violet Mauve as
one parent. Thus Whitewing Violet paired to a Yellow Olive gives
one or two Yellow-wing Olive Greens, which, provided all the cautions about
wings etc. have been observed, have that deep brassy sheen to the body which
when allied to a good yellow clear wing make up a most attractive bird. Another
useful pairing to produce Yellow-wing Olive Greens is the use of a Yellow-wing
Olive Green to a deep-body-coloured Dark Yellow, provided the wings of both
are good.
(The hen pictured above right was bred from Dark Green
Yellow-wing/Yellow x Violet Cobalt Whitewing/White, both parents having good
body colour and clear wings. JE ).
There are several matings which do not seem to produce the desired results, and one of these is the pairing of Whitewing Violet or Violet Mauve to the White Greys or the Grey Yellows. While the use of White Grey or Grey Yellow does usually give above average substance to the chicks, all too often the wings suffer, especially the flight-ends. Another mating which does not satisfy is Whitewing Violet to White Violet. Here the doubling up of the Violet factor seems to affect both body-colour and wing-markings, and many of the washed-out looking birds one sees sometimes at shows are the result of this mating.
A good mating to Whitewing Violet is Yellow-wing Dark Green. The progeny is excellent for colour contrast, but as already pointed out, the mating does not preserve the essential substance in the off-spring. Better is a good-winged Dark Yellow to a Whitewing Violet. Here if the Dark Yellow possesses size and head as well as clarity of wing the results have been satisfactory. This mating is recommended.
Some years ago Dark Greens split for White were used to Clearwings with a measure of success, and some really good-sized birds were seen. Unfortunately there are few Dark Greens about today, and those that are of a high standard, are not likely to be available. I recall using a Violet Dark Green/White cock with a fair measure of success, but to use normals to Clearwings one must be prepared for a high percentage of wastage.
A bird which is really rare today is the Whitewing Violet Mauve. This is probably the most potent agent for the production of Whitewing Violets, and these birds, mated to White Sky or White Cobalt, invariably bring out in the off-spring a good deep violet body-colour.
Should the aim be to breed Yellow-wings and Whitewing from one pair, it is essential that Yellow-wings or Yellows, split for white, are paired to White suffused or Whitewings respectively. Olive Yellow, split for White to a Whitewing Skyblue, produces Whitewing Cobalts, Yellow-wing Dark Greens, White Cobalts and Dark Yellows. Dark Yellow, split for White, mated to a Skyblue, gives Whitewing Skyblues, Whitewing Cobalts, Yellow-wing Light Greens, Yellow-wing Dark Greens, White Cobalts and White Skyblues as well as Light and Dark Yellows. This is a mating to be recommended as producing a most useful spread of colour varieties.
Do not use medium colours to medium colours as more often than not such matings dilute body-colour or give patchiness on the breasts of the birds. Light to dark is good, as it tends to deepen body-colour of the medium range of birds produced. Light to medium colour is another good mating for retaining colour in offspring. The light-colour group is made up of Yellow-wing Light Green, Light Yellow, Whitewing Skyblue and White Skyblue. Medium birds are Whitewing Cobalt, White Cobalt, Yellow-wing Dark Green and Dark Yellow. Dark birds are Yellow-wing Olive Green, Yellow Olive, Whitewing Mauve and White Mauve. All these birds, theoretically, can be produced from the one pair of Yellow-wing Dark Greens split White, but in practice this mating provides too many wasters for it to be much used.
Generally it should be understood that the Yellow-wings are usually larger birds than are the Whitewings, though exceptions to this rule do occur.
Here are a few more matings, with expectations:
Whitewing Mauve to Yellow-wing Light Green:-
Yellow-wing Dark Greens and Dark Yellows, both split White.
Note: Yellow-wing
split white would give Whitewing Cobalts and White Cobalts in addition to above.
White Mauve to Yellow-wing Light Green, same expectations as above.
Yellow-wing Olive to White Skyblue, same as above.
Yellow Olive to Whitewing Skyblue, again same as above.
Whitewing Cobalt to Yellow Olive:- Yellow-wing Olive, Yellow-wing Dark Green, Dark and Olive Yellows.
Whitewing Cobalt to Light Yellow:- Yellow-wing Dark and Light Greens, and Light and dark Yellows. All Yellow-wing and Yellow progeny would be split white.
A mating which is giving good results here is Whitewing Violet x Dark Yellow/White. From this the expectations are Whitewing Violet, Whitewing Violet Mauve, Whitewing Violet Skyblue, Whitewing Cobalt, Whites in the same colours, Yellow-wings Light, Dark and Olive, with Yellows in the same colours. The Violet factor alters the body-colour of the Yellow-wings, and is particularly pleasing in the Dark and Olive Greens. Both these birds, properly mated to White Skyblue, would themselves give a percentage of Whitewing Violets.
There are many more matings to produce Clearwings, and beginners with Yellow-wings and Whitewings will find their production a fascinating and gripping pursuit. A perfect specimen of a Yellow-wing or a Whitewing has not yet been seen, so there is plenty of scope for people taking up this variety for the first time. The goal is to breed Yellow-wings with really buttercup wings, deep body-colour of an even shade of the colour represented, and to ally to these properties a good head and plenty of substance. The same is true of the Whitewings. Unmarked white wings are the greatest problem in the variety. Deep and even body colour, along with really white wings and a good head and size have still to be seen in one bird. Many possess one or two of the qualities, but so far none has been bred possessing all.
There is definite evidence of the increased and increasing interest in Clearwings. This is a variety which beginners will find just as easy or as difficult to breed as any of the Opaline, Cinnamon Opaline or Lutino varieties.
E. C. Jenkins
I have experimented during the last ten years with every possible mating. Clearwings have long been a subject to controversy. Rightly so, because they are the most difficult variety to breed to standard. In fact, I state flatly that a Clearwing up to standard has yet to be shown. It's a fact that when one attains the standard in colour contrast, inevitably the bird lacks head or size or type. The reverse is also true. When a bird is bred that has the desired head, it's usually badly down in colour contrast, and when one has a big bird it usually has not the head or the type.
Over the years, many attempts have been made to find a way to combine the desired distinct colour contrast between wings and body along with the essential qualities of type, size and head quality. All credit must be given to the relatively small number of fanciers who have, in the face of a series of disappointments, remained constant to their personal ideals and persisted in their attempts to breed to standard this most beautiful of all Budgerigars.
I recall the late Dr. Armour laying down his own classification for the two sections of Clearwings, and it was a good one.
The Yellow-wing should have a buttercup-coloured wing as free from tracing as possible with a body colour equivalent to the normal Light, Dark and Olive Green. He wanted to see a bird with buttercup wings allied to the true olive colour, which he defined as shining mustard (see note 1). I am sure all readers would like to see a bird approaching the ideal Budgerigar with the colour specified!
The Whitewing should have wings as near paper-white as possible, again with as little underlying marking or tracing as possible, and the body-colour should be the normal bird's body-colour, even and without flecking, not deep on the rump and lighter on the remainder of the body as are so many birds today.
In both sections, Yellow-wings and Whitewings,
personal preferences differ with the individual breeder, but I suggest that
few of them will disagree that the most beautiful of all is the Whitewing Violet.
Having said that, one must qualify it by pointing out to new Clearwing breeders
that it's the most exasperating problem to fix the true Violet colour in Clearwings.
In no variety can be produced so many shades of violet other than
the correct shade, which, hesitatingly even now, I can best define as the shade
found in the pansy of that colour - deep, even, glowing.
In an attempt to breed birds as near as possible to the ideal for each section, many ways have been tried, many out-crosses used, but, to judge by the results observed on the show bench, none yet has been found which gives all the qualities together. So in dealing with this matter of breeding Clearwings, it should be clearly understood that I am giving results achieved by other prominent Clearwing breeders, and, more modestly, by myself. I wish it could be claimed for them and for me that we had achieved our ideals.
During the last ten years I have experimented with every mating that gave the least possibility of success, and the merits and demerits of the various methods and matings used would take too long to go into in an article of this character. Briefly, I would say that Clearwing to Clearwing represents the eventual perfect mating. But, as at present there are so few outstanding Clearwings that can be mated to reproduce even their like, that the mating is in discard until Clearwings are produced which can hold their own with normals in size, type, head and the desired body/wing colour contrast. At present, experience is that where a Clearwing is paired to another Clearwing, the progeny do not show any superiority over their parents, and generally are inferior.
Several years ago, some breeders in their search for desirable pairings used the mating of Cinnamon Whites to Clearwings, and for a time some excellent birds were produced. Close examination revealed, however, the undesirable shading of the wing tips, which, as the birds grew older, became more pronounced. There was, too, the dilution of body colour that could not be avoided. So, while some judges put up some superficially correct birds, the more discerning and knowledgeable breeders realised that these defects could spoil a Clearwing stud that was aimed at producing the ideal.
Greywings were also tried. Some breeders in the Midlands did quite a lot with them, and to this day it's argued that some winners were actually Greywings. This mating was soon dropped when it was discovered that the wings of the birds were heavily marked, so much so that many breeders were unable to distinguish between White Blues and Greywing Blues. There is little doubt that, at this time, Greywings were being shown in the White (any suffusion), Whitewing or Yellow-wing classes, and were sometimes winning.
The search for better and better mates for the Clearwings led to the Opalines. Again, it was a mating which could do good, but which also did harm. This mating certainly introduced size and head, and gave a sheen to the feathers which was by no means undesirable. Unfortunately, in many birds, a shading of the wing was noticeable, though, to be strictly fair, some birds were produced which were free from this particular marking, and it is still used today with a fair measure of success, but in no way brings us near our ideal bird.
The mating which is most practiced today is, I believe, that of Clearwing to White, to Yellow and to Yellow/White. This method to the one which has brought what success as has so far been achieved in breeding good specimens bearing some degree of likeness to the ideal, and, depending on the quality of the White or Yellow, certainly seems the most successful to date. Here let me say that the Opaline in these varieties, bearing in mind the obvious drawbacks, has proved even more useful than the normal White or Yellow. For the breeder who does not mind a certain amount of waste, in so far as the proportion of split Opalines and Opaline selfs, Opaline Whites and Opaline Yellows produced are numerically more than the Clearwings bred, this is a very fair mating, producing one or two quite good specimens.
Dwelling a little longer on these Yellows and Yellow-Whites, in either the normal or the Opaline, it must be emphasised that it is often the bird which is useless for exhibition that is the best for breeding. For instance, the big Dark Yellow and the big Olive Yellow are highly desirable mates for Whitewings if one wants to produce good coloured Yellow-wings. If the Dark Yellow and Olive Yellow are split White, and most of them are, then the mating is doubly valuable in that the progeny would be of Whitewing and White as well as Yellow-wing and Yellow.
There are two other matings needing merely a few words. The use of Grey is admitted to be beneficial in nearly all normal varieties and it has been tried in Clearwings. Big birds with good heads have resulted, but the wings are generally so shaded as to nullify the experiment. Yet, as a bird, I think a Whitewing Grey is a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, I don't think it could ever be bred with paper-white wings and the correct body colour.
The most controversial mating is Clearwing to Normal. Here I would state that if you can mate Normal/White or Normal/Yellow to a Clearwing you are saving twelve months as an otherwise Normal to Clearwing would produce birds of a split nature usable only the following breeding season. The Normal/White or Normal/Yellow mating to Clearwing can produce the odd outstanding Clearwing, though more often the products are faulty in one way or another, usually in the wings. Some very fine and extremely useful Whites and Yellows are produced from this pairing, so that it's always worth a trial. It is essential though that two facts are borne in mind. One, that the Normal split Yellow or White should be a first class exhibition bird possessing size and head, and two, the Clearwing should have the best colour contrast and type possible.
There are other matings, but I have touched, and touch is the right word, on the main methods used in the past and today. I recall writing an article about Clearwings in 1956 for the Lincolnshire and East Anglia B. and F. B. S. In it I said that one has often pondered on the strange but indisputable fact that the leading breeders in the country do not breed Clearwings. So, in the most friendly spirit and in the best interests of the fancy, I say to Messrs. Watmough, Bryan, Kirkby-Mason and Dabner and Company, "You cannot breed them". The foremost breeders have brought their respective varieties to a high pitch of excellence, and because, between them, they possess the finest material available for the production of Clearwings, one would imagine that of all people these are the most likely to produce the ideal Clearwing. So, over to you “Champions of the Fancy” I throw the gauntlet, and the Budgerigar breeders of this country will be inestimably indebted if one or more of you takes it up.
E. C. Jenkins
Notes:-
1 I have this year bred some Violet Olive Yellow-wings with very clear wings. I am surprised to find that, as some come through their first moult, the body colour is far less green than I had expected. The best description I can come up with is a sort of almost metallic bronze-green that shows the wings off well - they are certainly different from the almost grey green I was half expecting. Their wings are showing signs of developing into the “shining mustard” mentioned and as they do I am beginning to see what Dr. Armour was describing.
2 The lack of interest by the “Champions of the Fancy" continues. I'm sure we would be equally grateful today if some of those Champions would devote some of their undoubted expertise and super birds in a concerted effort to improve the exhibition conformation of Clearwings without destroying the essential qualities of the variety. Some have done it with other recessive varieties e.g. Recessive Pieds, - why not Clearwings?
John Evans
Last updated 18 March 2000