By Eric Peake

All Budgerigar fanciers are eager to breed better, eye-catching birds that will bring success on the show bench. In order to do this, we have to understand fully the basic breeding pattern and behaviour of our stock. In this article, I will outline some of the important points for which to look in the production of better birds. I am assuming that my readers have a decent team, or one of average quality, with which to begin.

An eye for an exhibition bird is imperative if you are to pick out the good points as well as the bad ones. But this skill can only be acquired through experience in a breeding room as well as on show bench. Study every photograph, print, line drawing, and live specimen as often as possible.

The best plan with regard to selecting breeding stock is to decide on a birds bad points as soon as possible. This is done by working back from the worst bird to the best. The best budgerigar in a study is the "key" bird of a breeding team; you pair the best cock to the best hen, second-best to second best, and so on.

Pairs selected

By this time of the year, most fanciers will have selected their best pairs on which to work and dispose of the bird’s surplus to their requirements.  

Perhaps the biggest fault in our own branch of the fancy is that many breeders seem to dwell too much on large bulky budgerigars rather than the large birds with style and shape. The more experienced person can rearrange his team to balance this, but not the beginner.

Heads are the most important point to consider when pairing up. Do not pair a good headed bird to one with a small or average head. If this done, the young will not form a balance between the two adults; according to a Mendel's theory of hereditary the best only comes from the best.

Keep accurate breeding records and so gain intimate knowledge of your birds. We often imagine that the stock has hidden good point that can "come out" in the young. But visual characteristics are required on the show bench to take a bird into first place.

Style and stance

Points for which to look when making a selection are head, style, stance, and size combined with shape. If these are kept firmly in mind, then the basic points are understood.

Concentrating on the head, it must have roundness and size. The mask, which should be as deep as possible, is considered as part of the head. The eye forming the focal point should have plenty of distance behind it to the back of the head. Frontal rise from the cere and plenty on top of the head are the golden rules of head selection.

One of the biggest faults today is that many show bird’s today lack back skull - possibly acceptable in some hens but certainly obvious in cocks. The mask being of good depth must have good spots in order to balance exhibit.

We will assume that two well spotted budgies have been paired together, but be wary of one with good spots that is mated to an average spotted bird; progeny are then average spotted.

Width of the head is most important when selecting pairings; we tend to view the birds too much from the side and not from the front. Width of head can come only from a wide headed birds due to skull formation in their genetically make-up.

When viewed from the front, browiness in the head gives additional character to the budgerigar. We do not want a bird too course, but length of feather can sometimes paid dividends.

The list, which follows, gives a quick " run-down" of basic points for which to look when selecting breeding stock.

Head: Too narrow; insufficient back skull; shallow mask; spot too small; no frontal rise; two small overall in comparison to body size.

Body: long, thin and racy; not enough length; tail too long; tail dropping below the line of stance; bulkiness in the chest and abdomen; hump on the neck; dip in the neck; body too small in comparison to the head, and vice-versa.

Wings: Distorted markings especially in Opalines; washy colour on the larger area of the wing; long flighted with more than seven primary feathers; course feathering; patchiness of body colour.