The origin of the Clearwing goes back many years and although it was earlier believed by some that they came from selective breeding of suffused Whites and Yellows, it is now a positive fact that their colouring is due to a separate mutation.
They were first bred in Australia in 1932 and called "Austrels" because of their light wing markings. In the Budgeriar Bulletin Number 30 of 1934, it noted the arrival of a pair of "Royal Blue Austrels" as a gift for His Majesty King George V. A further article from a Mr Terrill, stated that both Clearwings and Full-Bodied Colour Greywings were in existence showing both kinds to be separate mutations.
Reports of Clearings being breed in large numbers soon followed and credit for creating the new mutation was attributed to Harold E Pier from Sydney. In Mr Pier's aviary, he had mostly Greywings and it was from them the Clearwing mutation was developed. This was later supported by breeding results in both Australia and Britain.
Professor H Steiner of Zurich, Dr H Dunker of Bremen and Professor A A E Crewe of Edinburgh all fully agreed on the Clearwing being a new mutation. At that period several fanciers imported the new mutation into Britain including leading breeders of the day Bernard Mott and R J Watts.
In 1937 they were bred abundantly in the aviaries of the above and also at the establishments of H Tod Boyd, Scott and Campkin, and the well-known, in later years, C H Rogers. During 1937 they were shown at the big event of the year, the Bird Fancy Exhibition. Whitewings were shown with Whites in the early shows and Yellow-wings were consigned to the AOC classes.
C H Rogers told me the imported Clearwings varied considerably in purity of wing and depth of body colour, some of them were paired together and others paired with our own Whites and Yellows. Cyril Rogers said the Light Yellow was one of the best exhibition birds in those early days and they were used as the main outcross. In subsequent generations the purity of wing was established, but depth of body colour was lost.
During the 1939/1945 World War, the British budgerigar stock was decimated, and it was not until the 1950's that the Clearwing was to be bred in numbers once again.
In 1963, the Clearwing Budgerigar Breeders Association was formed under the guidance of Dru Parsons, who at the time lived in Reading, near to me and was a close friend. I became a founder member and joined the Committee. One of our first tasks was to push for separate classes for Clearwings at the major shows and this the CBBA achieved shortly afterwards.
There is no doubt that the original Clearwings back in the 1930's carried wing markings, and this can be seen in the pictures sketched at the time of Harold Pier's birds by Nevill Cayley FRCS, a leading authority, judge and chairman of the Australian Budgerigar Club in those days.
The early Clearwing breeders were very fortunate to have such a valuable outcross as the Light Yellow to use, because the present day specimens just do not come up to exhibition standard and the specialist has to look elsewhere for assistance in improving the Clearwing variety.
The art of breeding Yellow-wings and Whitewings to perfection is a skill that can be obtained by all Clearwing breeders and the thoughtful selection of pairings is essential to achieve the end result.
Care should be taken to study the proposed pair to be mated, they must complement one another in every way, with each one having that extra feature the other requires. This could be body colour, wing clarity, head size and shape or just deportment, whichever one of the pairing must have something over their partner or the youngsters will not improve on the line.
We know that wing clarity should be the main thought in our minds when pairing up, and the pair must have a good family background of contrast if we are to succeed, for there is no reason why the Clearwing with the perfect contrast i.e., wings free of markings and a deep body colour, cannot be bred if we make the right matings.
To combine head and body size with great contrast takes a lot of skill and patience, each bird is different and requires a perfectly balanced partner if you are to breed young Clearwings that can form the basis of your stud for years to come.
Both Yellow-wings and Whitewings have improved greatly both in size and colour contrast in latter years and are established favourites with hundreds of fanciers. Proof of this can be seen at the CBBA Club Show where up to 500 Yellow-wings and Whitewings are benched each year.
Membership of the CBBA is increasing with fanciers spread world-wide and I commend all breeders of the variety to join their ranks, whether you just keep a few as an additional variety in your aviary, or are a specialist breeder.
Full details of the Association can be found on the CBBA page.
The challenge to breed the ideal Clearwing is a materialistic goal the breeder finds completely absorbing, and the pleasure gained from breeding a show stopper has to be experienced only once, to keep the avid Clearwing fancier glued to the task of breeding this exciting and beautiful mutation.
Editor's Note: This contribution is an extract from the book The Art of Breeding Clearwings by Malcolm Freemantle, one of the world's leading Clearwing experts. The Association is indebted to the author for giving permission to reproduce this article and the CBBA is pleased to recommend the book.
This article is part of a booklet Welcome to Caring For and Breeding Clearwing Budgerigars used as a welcome to new members of the CBBA and is reprinted by kind permission of that Association.
Copyright © 1997, The Clearwing Budgerigar Breeders Association.
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