HAVE  YOU  BEEN  CLEARWING ’D

By  Bobbie Budgie

I do not think there is any more beautiful variety in the World of Budgerigars than the Clearwing Budgerigar – known in some parts of the World as the Yellow-wing and White-wing varieties…

Contrary to many beliefs you do not have to always win a Grand Champion award to enjoy winning.  I and my family have been very happy winning a variety award at most shows and most of the variety awards we have won have been with the Clearwing… There is a little something special about getting hold of a Show Schedule and working out what “special awards”  there are being contested and setting ones entries, with the sole purpose of having a go at winning the awards on offer, in this case the Champion Clearwing or Best Clearwing in show.

In Australia in the 1960s and early 1970s many of the varieties seen on the Show bench at that time were very similar in appearance and the terms dominant, rare and lesser variety have only come into play since the introduction of the birds from the UK and Europe which has separated many varieties quality wise… the colours and features, or the “Rare” varieties, are still beautiful even if the bird itself is not as strong visually as the normals, pieds, opalines, etc…

In 1966 Arthur Brown won Champion Bird in Show for the Budgerigar Society’s Annual State show at the Sydney Lower Town Hall with a Dark Green Clearwing cock…. That was the last Clearwing to win a Grand Champion in Show that I am aware of and it seems almost impossible to imagine they will improve their physical features enough in the foreseeable future to win again.   But, Champion Clearwing there still is and that’s what matters to the variety breeder.  Whilst ever that award exists then there is always something to aim for at a Show and to bring home from time to time..

The Green Clearwing with his beautiful Full Body Colour – in Light Green, Dark Green and Olive and Golden wings and tails. .. The Blue Clearwing with his Full Body Colour Skyblue, Cobalt, Mauve and magnificent Violet in contrast to the snow white wings and tails has to be one of the most glorious sights to behold at a Budgerigar show…

One of the greatest thrills I have experienced was a country show in New South Wales some years back where 76 Clearwings were benched for one

of the States’ Clearwing Special Awards.  The Show Manager had placed the entire classes together across the front door so everyone who arrived

was confronted with 76 magnificent coloured Clearwings and if that did not start the pulse rating then you needed a budgie transfusion…

Trying to breed the better quality type of Clearwing is a major challenge for any Fancier and I can guarantee you will need a Heart Specialist before you tire of the challenge, but what a great challenge it is and what a trill it can be to win Champion Clearwing… anyone can win Grand Champ with a Light Green or a Spangle, etc, but to win a Champion Clearwing trophy is the greatest win of all… and if you have not experienced it I’ll find you a pair to start you off….

God himself only knows how hard it is to mix up those genes to avoid the grey tails and markings and little light grey spots and pin heads and lack of back skull and beeeeedie eyes and mean beaks, but aren’t they lovely and you can breed them with no markings, yellow or white tails, no spots, back skull, wide heads, etc, etc, it just takes a bit of work, a little love and a fair bit of understanding and about 44 years at the helm..

My Grandfather said to me one day, when we lost a show we expected was ours to win, “never mind Son theres another show next week”…

And then he said something about the judge on the day – my Grandfather died in 1970 so I am safe in telling this little piece – “when we show the dogs, the Great Dane wins its class and when the Chihuahua class comes along, a Chihuahua wins that class and at the end of the day when they have the Champion Chihuahua they give it to the best Chihuahua, certainly not a Great Dane !!! so we can still win Champion Clearwing and the others can share the rest of the spoils.    Son, I never concern myself with that which I cannot win, I only concentrate on that which is within my grasp and I try to grasp it tight, with both hands…”

For those of you who outcross during your breeding season, who try all manner of varieties into our Clearwings to make them bigger, stronger, wider, longer, uglier, less clearwing - forget it and try breeding Clearwings with clear wings.  Full body coloured birds with a colour combination so beautiful, magnificent, unlike anything else in the World.  A true breeder’s delight to behold, something you can take your friends to see and then you can say to them

–       look at this most beautiful of all the Budgerigars –

–         a CLEARWING    –

 its won Champion Clearwing – and its mine….

My all your little ones be Clearwings

Bobbie Budgie

Australia

This article was written for the Clearwing Budgerigar Society UK