Published in the Variegated Post 1999
This year was the first time I tried and succeeded to breed Clearflights from my Dark Eyed Clears and Recessive Pieds. I managed to get 3 offspring from one pair which displayed the Clearflight characteristics with some excess colour run seen in the body and wing markings. This I learnt later was due to being split for Recessive Pied – which was also confirmed by the Ghalib Al-Nasser which he wrote for Cage & Aviary Birds and he has submitted for publication in the V.P.
One of these offspring is pictured Below.
You can clearly see colour run from the mask into the bib of the bird, a number of clear flights in the wing and a form of opalescent marking in the wings of the bird. These wing markings however when observed closely are of the “normal” type.
Here you can see the open wing, showing that the outer two flights are completely clear, again you can see the odd type of markings in the main section of the wing.
Here again I have opened both wings for comparison, you can see that the birds right wing has more clear flights and again similar central markings.
Here can be seen the birds colour run into the body, a full set of spots is also seen.
I have actually shown these birds on four occasions so far. The first at the Specialist & Rare Variety Show in Ryton, here the birds were in Clearflight classes and not many comments made – a fellow fancier was interested in them and we compared notes.
The second show was the LCNWBS Club Show, where they were in the Dominant Pied Section in the standard classification, here they were wrong classed as “Spangles”. As you can imagine I was none too pleased with that one.
Two weeks later they were again show in Clearflight Classes at a Specialist show and again wrong classed as being Dominant Pieds.
On discussion with the judge, he explained that he was following the colour standard which would have placed them in the Dominant Class and not the Clearflights, in his opinion.
Finally, yet again at a Specialist Show in Yorkshire a prominent judge wrong classed them from the Clearflight class and on discussion said that in his opinion they were showing spangle markings. This as earlier stated I feel is wrong and beg to differ on his judgement.
So overall as a first time exhibitor of Clearflights – yes they may not be good examples, but the main idea was to at least put them on the bench I do seem to have my eyes opened as to the ways some judges will see them.
I feel that those fanciers who do breed these birds need to get them onto the showbench to allow judges to see what is around, and to publicise the colour. Next year I will be endeavouring to breed more Clearflights from Clearflight with normal pairings to clean up the Clearflight markings and to gain the extra size.
This year I have also Dark-eyed clears at Open Show for the first time. The young one which won Best Recessive Pied Breeder with at the Specialist & Rare Variety Open Show. This has been repeated this on a number of occasions at Championship shows as well as at the Specialist Show – This I am very pleased with. However this variety, as long as it shows good type, shape, size and deportment is hard to fault, as it has no markings to fault in the first place.
This is my and many other fanciers opinion, makes the job of the judge when sorting through a standard “Recessive Pied” class at a Championship Open Show, in some ways easy - as it is simple to put forward a Dark-eyed Clear, and in some way difficult- as to justify putting a more bold but badly marked Recessive Pied in front of what is a “clear” bird.
I would love other people to be bold enough to come forward with their ideas and suggestions so we can put them in the next issue of the Variegated Post.