Interesting post, a problem that didn't exist prior to importation, why?, because in Australia we kept our clearwings pure, never mating them to greywings or cinnamonwings. And our judjes, judged for variety, not just size, shape and colour. I can remember clearwings being wrong classed because their feet were not grey enough hence they were suspected of being cinnamon clearwings. Unfortunately our fellow fanciers oversees were not so variety concsious and when you compare the Aust clearwing to the imported clearwing, they are like two seperate mutations.

Having judged for over 30 years myself I can only recommend you judge solely on appearance, judge each bird before you on what "standard" it meets , you cannot be expecvted to know the breeding. My opinion is that we will soon return to judging Variety as there are so many good birds being benched, the way to split them is to return to Variety.

Cheers Clearwing

Hi guys[yes I can say "Guys" as it is now a uni-sex word] thanks for the comments I will provide some pics soon, I have two problems to overcome first.

1. My grandaughter took the lead that conects mt camera to my computor.

2. I don't know how to load pics yet, but I'll ask splat to come and show me. Clearwing

As long as you use water based paint, I paint inside my nest boxes to prevent mite. Clearwing

Well Done Kaz, love the slide show. Some of those birds are showing promise as well. Clearwing

I spoke to Jeff Attwood about plastic boxes years ago, he had some made and was trying them out. I decided to do the same, but I only had one made, I tried it for a couple of seasons but found it got too wet in our central Victorian climate. I tried drilling holes in it, placing it in different locations inside/outside the cage, on the top box the bottom box ect but eventually decided to give up on the idea unless I moved to a cooler climate. I would prefer if possible to experiment with disposable [maybe cardboard] design. Clearwing

I'm sure they eat at least some of it, just as they do with tree bark. But ecen if they don't it gives them something to do, they really seem to enjoy it. Clearwing

The tail quill is the hard centre stripe in the tail feather. IN answere to your question re the light green, it is difficult from the photos but he could be a clearwing or the product of a clearwing mated to a greywing, unfortunately I haven't had much success with cocks that go brown in the cere, they are normally infertile, let me know how you go if you breed with him. Clearwing

Yes I have used it, it has a very high protein content. Best fed during breeding season. Clearwing

Grey is defined as half way between black and white, so what is that? With greywings as with all colours of budgerigar they come in a range of shades ie light green, dark green, olive or sky blue, cobalt, violet. I believe the wing colour is the same in greywings, this one just happens to be light. clearwing

As long as there is no sign of mould in the hay, the best way is to smell it if it smells fresh it will usually be okay. Lucerne[ ? on the spelling] is great for budgies but I have had success with wheat, Oat and Grass Hay. Clearwing

Had to buy a bag for my daughter's hamster so got to wondering if any of you make this aailable to your birds too. Thought they might like to chew it and it might offer some nutrients too.Opinions?

No problem feeding Hay, any seeding grass is fine. I have fed Hay for years, don't know about the nutrients in it that would depend what grass was used and where it was grown, the soil etc. but my birds love it and it gives some variety, lets face it I would hate to live on just chicken. Clearwing

Hi Finnie, what a contrast its 10.45am here and I've just put the cooling on in my birdroom, we're heading for a top temp of 42C which I think is about 107F. Clearwing

Hi Clearwing! I've read the name "Geoff" on here before, and it is always used with respect and awe. Hmmm...Well, everyone seems so excited to get your input, that I have decided to kill two birds with one stone... (um, am I allowed to say that here?)Anyway, I'm working on posting all my birds for color/ mutation i.d., so I will start with Finnie. Please click here . Again, welcome, it's great to have you here!

Hi, its nice to be welcome, the bird in question is a greywing, not a clearwing. One photo shows quite clearly the tail and the quill is dark grey which means she is greywing. A clearwing has a neutral tail quill. Hope that clears it up for you. Clearwing

Thanks for the welcome, yes the violet clearwing is my favourite bird, but clearwings are a very small part of my stud, mainly normals, opalines, cinnamons and dom. pieds.

Hi everyone, this is my first post just letting you know a little about myself. I've bred exhibition budgies for many years, its a great hobby. I breed about 100 birds a year. I've been reading your posts for a long time and thought it was time I contributed. Looking forward to our chats Clearwing