Clearbodies

Jim Hutton

Developed from his talk to the 1997 Judges meeting in Bristol

The Budgerigar Society has issued a Provisional Standard for Clearbodies. This was printed in the May edition of The Budgerigar. The Clearbody mutation is fairly new to Britain although it has existed for a number of years. It is unclear where it originated. Some say Australia others say America. This argument does not affect the printed Clearbody standard as the BS standard relates to the "Texas Clearbody" which, as its name suggests, clearly has its origins in America.

Sex-Linked

The variety is sex-linked, which means its breeding habits are similar to any other sex-linked variety such as Cinnamon or Opaline. Hens are visual Clearbodies only and cannot be split for Clearbody. Cocks can, however, be either visual Clearbodies or carrying the Clearbody factor in a hidden form. The strange phenomenon with the Clearbody is the fact that they are dominant over Inos. When a Clearbody is paired to a Lutino or Albino you will get Clearbodies from the mating. Any Normal cocks produced will either be split Ino or split Clearbody but cannot be split for both. Only test mating will determine which factor is carried in the split form.

**Sex-linked Expectations**
Cocks	Hens	Expectations
Clearbody	Clearbody	100% Clearbodies
Clearbody	Normal	50% Normal/Clearbody) cocks 50% Clearbody hens
Normal/Clearbody	Clearbody	25% Clearbody cocks 25% Normal/Clearbody cocks 25% Clearbody Hens 25% Normal Hens
Normal	Clearbody	50% Normal/Clearbody cocks 50% Normal Hens
Normal/Clearbody	Normal	50% Normal/Clearbody cocks 50% Normal hens

Judging Faults

Not many judges will have yet had the experience of judging many, if any, Clearbodies. You will find time spent studying the provisional standard worthwhile. When judging Clearbodies here are some faults to look out for. Firstly, the colour which starts from the mask to the underside of the body and the rump should, in the Green series, be a bright yellow fading to a light suffusion and deepening in colour at the legs and rump. If the colour does not fade and/or deepen in the right places this is a fault.

The wings should be a deep black colour on a yellow ground. The flight feathers, on the wing, should be light grey. It is a fault if the flights are too dark. It is also a fault if the wing markings fade where the wing meets the rump. This spoils the look of the contrast between the flights and the wing markings. It is essential that the tail should be dark. A light coloured tail is a major fault. Clearbody spots should be large and evenly spaced and as dark as possible. Small spots should be penalized as normal. However light coloured spots are also a fault and should also be penalized. Like all varieties capping should be free from flecking. Where this exists it should be penalized. For Blue series Budgerigars, the above all equally apply but White should be substituted for Yellow. Now, there is an interesting breeding behaviour with Clearbodies. Not only are they sex-linked but they are also dominant to Inos. To complicate matters further, a Budgerigar cannot be split for both Ino and Clearbody. It can be either split Ino or split Clearbody. It is usually split for Clearbody, that being the dominant variety. I believe that the reason the cocks cannot be split for both the Ino and Clearbody factors is that they are both located on the same pair of genes on the sex-linked pair of chromosomes.

Must Not Fall Into The Spangle Trap

You can see that it is relatively easy to breed Clearbodies. However if we are not to fall into the same trap as we did with Spangles, we must be very selective in our future pairings. Clearbodies come in all the full spectrum of colours and varieties. There is no doubt, in my mind, that the dark factor Normals are the most striking. I have seen the Violet and it is beautiful. The White body shading down to the Violet rump is a beauty to behold. Opalines can be equally good, the body colour blending into the wings certainly looks very good. Whatever Clearbodies you choose try where possible to keep them pure.

One or two little tips for anyone thinking of breeding them. If the colour on the wings starts to fade it is time to introduce a Normal back into the stud. This should bring the pigment back into the wing colouring. Alternatively, if you notice that the wing markings are getting dark it is possible to lighten them by pairing the Clearbodies to Red-eyes for a couple of years. This has the effect of lightening the flight feathers more effectively than either Clearbody to Clearbody, or Clearbody to Normal. Similarly, if the breast of the birds is getting progressively darker it can be beneficial to introduce the Ino. This has the effect of improving the nice yellow or white breast, shading down to the rump.

Now the Budgerigar Society has produced a provisional standard it may not be long before we see classes on the show schedules and possibly, who knows, maybe a certificate one day.

**Clearbody/Ino Expectations**
Cocks	Hens	Expectations
Ino	Clearbody	50% Clearbody/Ino cocks 50% Clearbody hens
Clearbody	Ino	50% Clearbody/ino cocks 50% Clearbody hens
Normal/Ino	Clearbody	50% Normal/ cocks (most /Clearbody, some /Ino) 50% Normal hens (including some Clearbodies)

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