The Opaline mutation was discovered in 1936. No doubt the Opaline blue series has gone from strength to strength, some will say for the better, others will say for the worse. I started to keep budgerigars for the second time in 1964. The first being in 1950s. It was on my return to the fancy that I started to breed with the Opaline blue series, as my stud was dominated by the blue series, mainly Grey's. The first Opaline was purchased from Ken Farmer, and it was an Opaline grey cock. This bird won a challenge certificate at Hendon C.B.S. championship show in 1967; Ken had some of best Opalines in the country at that time.

We talk of directional feathering on are birds as though it is something new. Ken had this feathering in the 1960s. I will admit the size was not what it is today.

I know a lot of fanciers do not like Opalines, but I feel they are very important to improving one's normals, in most cases they have a better head and deeper mask with larger spots. The one thing I look for is the top, and if anyone was at the B.S. Club Show and saw our Opaline grey cock a double C.C. winner he is a good example in what we are trying to achieve in our stock. Unfortunately you tend to loose the mask with excessive had qualities.

I think what puts all lot of fanciers off Opalines is the flecking that we now have and no doubt the fault is the reason for the decline in numbers on the show bench. I think that most of was have this fault in our stock.

I am a coward when I pair of because I always pair dirty Opalines to normals, trying to hide the fault, although I must say that since I have introduced the spangle into our stock it seems to have the effect of cleaning the Opalines.

I feel that the Budgerigar Society has to carry some of the blame for the flecking in our Opalines when they changed the standard to the wings of the Opaline, must be as a normal I feel this did not start the trouble but it increased with the problem, and is also took beauty away from the bird when we lost that opalescence in the wing.

I know there are a lot of fanciers that will not have a Opaline in the bird room, for the reasons I have mentioned but I cannot help but think that if their outcrosses were pure normals that the quality and size would be lost. It may be the outcross that they use is split for Opaline and that helps keep the quality and size in their stock. So in finishing this article I am one who not only feels we cannot do without Opalines, I know that I can't, and whether flecked or clean, I will continue to use them.