Budgerigars by Barrie Shutt

How often are we amazed watching birds flying,our own budgerigars playing in the avairy,crows circling in the wind,the hawk hovering above or the seagulls dipping and diving over the waves.Birds are the ultimate flying machine so often copied by man but never matched.Just like the airplane four main forces affect the flight of the bird,lift,drag,thrust and the downward pull of gravity.To overcome gravity birds must generate lift,the force that takes them upwards.Air flowing over and under their wings create lift,but the airflow also pushes the wing back with a force called drag.Combine lift and drag and a upwards and backwards force results.To overcome this ,birds create thrust by flapping their wings to move themselves forward. 

 The exhibition budgerigar does not need to fly looking for food and water or escape from natural predators , if they had to i don't think they would survive due to their body size and length of feather.

Feather is the most important aspect of breeding exhibition budgerigars of quality,we still cannot ignore the other components needed though. The variety of the budgerigar is identified by it's plumage, the colour,the birds markings,it's size and the shape are all down to the plumage.

Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers.The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a number of different colour morphs. Differences in plumage are used by ornithologists  and birdwatchers in order to distinguish between species and collect other species specific information.

Almost all species of birds moult at least annually, usually after the breeding season. This resulting covering of feathers, which will last either until the next breeding season or until the next annual moult, is known as the basic plumage. Many species undertake another moult prior to the breeding season known as the pre-alternate moult, the resulting breeding plumage being known as the alternate plumage. The alternate plumage is often brighter than the basic plumage, for the purposes of sexual display, but may also be cryptic in order to hide incubating birds that might be vulnerable on the nest.

Flight feathers are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired  feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (singular remex) while those on the tail are called rectrices (singular rectrix). Their primary function is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby enabling flight. The moult of their flight feathers can cause serious problems for birds, as it can impair their ability to fly. Different species have evolved different strategies for coping with this, ranging from dropping all their flight feathers at once (and thus becoming flightless for some relatively short period of time) to extending the moult over a period of several years.

Primaries are connected to the manus (the bird's "hand") these are the longest and narrowest feathers on the wing and a budgerigar should have seven fully grown in each wing. These feathers are especially important for flapping flight, as they are the principal source of thrust, moving the bird forward through the air. Most thrust is generated on the downstroke of flapping flight. However, on the upstroke (when the bird often draws its wing in close to its body), the primaries are separated and rotated, reducing air resistance while still helping to provide some thrust.

        The primary flight feathers.           

The tails of most birds end in long feathers called rectrices. These feathers are used as a rudder, helping the bird to steer and maneuver in flight; they also help the bird to balance while it is perched. In some species—such as birds of paradise,lyrebirds and peacocks—modified tail feathers play an important role in courtship displays. The extra-stiff tail feathers of other species, including woodpeckers, allow them to brace themselves firmly against tree trunks.

The exhibition budgerigars of today have much longer feathering which gives the appearance of a large bird,where do we start to improve ours? I would think the top end.Perhaps just above the cere ,the feathers instead of growing over the head are directed out laterally so that the eyes on the face cannot be seen.The feathers give the impression that they are  radiating out from the beak ,this will give the bird a tucked in beak and head width. When the bird blows and throws it's head  it gives  the bird that lift and frontal rise we so much desire.

Lets look at the birds shoulders which are a combination of the birds feathers,muscle and skeletal system,a wide shouldered bird will carry a lot of thick down,this acts as padding to enhance the shoulder width.

 We cannot have a large spot on a small feather so we need that long feather to create a deep mask and accomodate  larger spots all which must be well positioned on the mask.

If we can get extra feathering starting from the shoulders and flowing over the back of the bird acting like a collar we get one graceful sweep from the cere up to the head and this follows through into the back skull,this will give that bird an excellent back line.

Keep a record of the chicks you breed with heavy down because these will have a definite bearing on the appearance of the birds,this extra padding make the birds look larger.

Aim for feather quality.    

Glowing Budgies.

Why budgies glow

Budgies have feathers on their cheeks and the crowns of their heads which reflect ultraviolet light and which are prominent in courtship display. Because budgies have 4 types of colour sensing cells in their eyes (humans only have 3), they are able to see into the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. So to a budgie, the pigmented feathers appear very bright.  

A broken blood feather can be traumatic more for the owner than the bird when seeing the amount of blood produced from that one feather.Apply cornstarch or flour and apply gentle pressure to the damaged area of feather.If bleeding continues remove the feather by firmly gripping it with a pair of tweezers and pull with a gentle pressure in the direction of the feathers growth.The bird will appreciate a little period of isolation for a few hours after removing the feather.