Normals And Colour

Normals and Colour

These birds are called Normal because of their markings. The wild budgerigar in its native habitat has these markings and, to distinguish between the mutations and the original markings, the early breeders called them Normal as against the variations.

The definition today embraces a number of colours. Light Green, Dark Green, Olive Green and Grey Green constitute the Green Series. Sky, Cobalt, Mauve, Violet and Grey constitute the Blue Series. All of these birds come under the heading of Normal and must have the following features: wing markings, striations on cheeks, nape of neck, back and top of head, all clearly defined in black.

These markings are on ground colour, yellow in the Green Series and white in the Blue Series. Normals today are generally only Normal in appearance and, for exhibition purposes, that is how they should be classified. Breeding from them requires the breeder to understand they may very well be carrying recessive features such as Greywing, Black Eyed Self, Self Colour, Recessive Pied, to name a few.

The Green Series, being dominant to Blue, can often mean the Green bird is carrying the genes to produce Blue birds as well as their Green progeny. The chapter on genetics will explain how these birds are produced and also covers the sex-linked varieties that can be carried by the Cock birds only.

Why Start with Normals?

Why do experienced fanciers always advise beginners to start off with Normals? Reasons for this are considerable, and newcomers should pay heed to this advice.

Firstly, from an exhibition point of view, the Normals available for sale are, in the main, a higher standard than their fancier cousins. Therefore, a newcomer would have a much better chance of establishing a reasonable line of exhibition standard much sooner than starting off with the “prettier” varieties.

The body colour on Normals is more readily recognised and identified correctly than, say, on a Fallow. This helps the newcomer in their early days of breeding budgerigars, and the lessons learnt can be of great assistance when stepping out into other varieties.

Your normal lines may only be “B” grade. I would like to suggest that your purchases in other varieties will probably be “C” grade at best, or even lower down the scale. As most varieties can be improved by outcrossing to Normals, you are on your way. The point I am making is that a “B” grade bird must surely be an improvement on your “C” grade, and you can start using your own bred birds to help improve your other varieties.

Colour and the Show Bench

In the past, our budgerigar standard was known as a 50/50 point score, as against today’s 60/40 point score. This meant that there was a lot more emphasis placed on colour than there is today.

This was due to the fact that there were more points for colour and markings with a 50/50 point system. I have always favoured the 60/40 point score; however, I am disappointed in the deterioration we have seen in both brightness of colour and poor variety features.

I would like to see breeders return to breeding again for colour and variety features. To this end, I will pass on the system used in the past by breeders who bred for colour.

Light Greens mated to Light Greens always produced Light Greens. Their progeny were then mated to Dark Greens, never back to Light Greens. The Dark Greens from this pairing were often used to Sky Blues to produce Green birds split for Blue, carrying Blue genes in a hidden form. These birds were then used to breed Blue series.

The Light Greens and Dark Greens not used to produce Blue series went back to other Light Greens bred from the same system. The Olive came into use when it was thought that the Dark Greens were becoming too yellow. To overcome this, a Light Green was mated to an Olive. The resulting Dark Greens were generally considered better coloured than those continually bred from Light Green to Dark Green.

Grey Greens and Colour Breeding

The Grey Green of that time was a non-standard bird and was also considered detrimental to a colour breeder’s program. I feel that not enough thought was given to the fact that Grey Greens have a Light Green, Dark Green and Olive equivalent.

By this I am saying they are simply Light, Dark and Olive Greens with a Grey modifier. The fact is, Grey Greens were probably not used in the same way as their counterparts. Size seems to ride parallel to the Grey modifier, so I believe in using both Greys and Grey Greens in the breeding program.

The point I make is to use them in the sequence of the program as though they were Light Greens, Dark Greens or Olives. Identifying which Grey Green is in our possession is another matter, only by breeding these birds and considering where to use them will any breeders become familiar with the various shade of Grey Green.

Many breeders who are successful on the show bench seldom consider colour reproduction, as in the main they keep to just Grey Green and Grey. This can prove very successful as, by and large, Grey and Grey Greens do not have the same colour problems as the other Normals.

Common Colour Faults

The Light Green and Sky can become rather light in colour on the chest area, and in the Greens the ground colour may become very pale and flat. The Dark Green and Cobalt are often patchy in colour and, in many cases, quite dull and flat, more of a matt finish than a gloss.

Dark Greens often have blue suffusion around their flanks and sometimes on the chest and lower body. Olives and Mauves, having been neglected for so long, are generally poor in type and size, along with suffusion of blue in the Olive, and are often dull, flat and patchy.

It is a challenge for breeders to step out of the Grey and Grey Green classes, but not such a problem if one uses simple basic breeding programs designed for colour.

Use Good Colour Birds

A geneticist will tell you simply to use good colour birds in the first place. My difference is that breeders are generally working on theory, and most have not seen the different results firsthand.

Fanciers who have bred to colour programs will agree that a Dark Green from Light Green to Olive is always a different shade of Green to one bred from Light Green to Dark Green. These variances will be noted in many of the progeny as you vary your colour program.

The other point to consider is that in this era breeders do not consider colour. Where has all the bright colour gone? Some say this is due to the larger feather on the modern bird. This is probably true to a degree. I have seen very large birds, as long and broad as any of the birds on today’s show bench, with very good colour. At the same time, smaller birds with very poor colour are being exhibited.

We do not have to blame the modern bird for deterioration in areas we have neglected.

Final Thoughts

Faults in Normals do not finish with body colour. Wing pattern and markings can be very poor and hard to breed out of your birds. Many Normals have body colour creeping into their ground colour, the wings and head areas, leaving the markings green or blue instead of yellow or white.

Type is important — in fact, probably the most important point to consider before making your purchase. Please read the chapter on type and remember that colour and markings go to make a perfect bird on good type.

Your Normals should be your stepping stones to improve your other varieties, as well as your front line to success on the show bench.