A Dream come true

During August of 2011, I was very happy to have the opportunity to make a dream of mine come true. I traveled to Europe to see different breeders and their beautiful birds and also to visit the Europaschau at Karlsruhe. Three other Brazilian breeders who are friends of mine made the long journey with me. We went to Germany on August 24 and traveled for 8 days by car to different German cities and also across into Switzerland. It was really a wonderful experience and a great opportunity for an important exchange of technical ideas.

Back home in Brazil I am a Budgerigar Judge so I am therefore very interested in following the evolution of different show birds from all around the world. Initially and for several years i have done this exclusively through the internet. I am always looking for new information, photos of the winning birds shown at different angles etc. It has been interesting to follow year after year, the development of several European studs that post pictures on the web. I have also been exchanging e-mails with European breeders in order to further my knowledge regarding the continual evolution of the modern Budgerigar.

I still believe that there is much subjectivity in the concept of "The Ideal Budgerigar"and I think it is possible for a general consensus in relation to which direction to follow in the process of the genetic evolution of the bird. It would be necessary to have a greater consensus amongst judges and breeders around the world and that the judgments were increasingly based on common technical concepts to all countries thus reducing the subjectivity to a minimum percentage.

During several birdroom visits I was curious to see that there were excellent stock birds but with different characteristics from birds being shown in Karlsruhe, especially in relation to the type of feather. It would be practically impossible for these birds to compete in the European Tournament because of the judging criteria that is pre-established. Is it really true, the fact that in tournaments birds with the kind of feather that is too "Buff" do not do well on the show bench. However, I also think that within the indisputable facts of the natural progression of the budgerigars evolution, breeders are seeking to develop birds that have longer feathers on the head in relation to the body feathers. The head feather in proportion unlike the old "Buffs" that had the head feathers and the body feathers that were very long and almost the same length.

During this trip, on August 29, I had the opportunity to go to Würenlos in Switzerland to visit Daniel Lütolf. I had been following Daniels work with budgerigars through the web since 1999. This was the first time that i had the opportunity to visit his stud in person. The feeling I had seeing the photos of the birds through the web was that they were a different "style" of bird and really high quality. However, the impact of the birds in person was much greater than I could of ever imagined.

The morphological characteristics of Daniel´s birds, in my opinion, are unlike anything that has ever been achieved in the world to date. By using a very rigorous selection process and after several generations, the creator is actually able to print their own characteristics in birds. Typical characteristics of Daniel´s birds are long silky feathers with enough emphasis on the head direction. The head feathers are much longer than the body feathers therefore connecting the head and shoulders with compact, very wide necks, excellent size, deep cuffs and showing the extreme docility that is present in the majority of his birds. The baby budgerigars have impressive qualities from being very young and already clearly demonstrate these characteristics.

I personally believe that in a process of genetic selection, directed not only to maintain the desirable characteristics of Show Birds, but also focused on a continued evolution, we should not restrict matings only to a form of selection such as exclusively inbreeding, line breeding or out-crossing. I believe in a process "hybrid" as distinct from an out-cross, which can also be non-consanguineous mating birds, but both being derived from a morphological selection process consistent and based on consanguinity . This method allows the inclusion of new features in a particular bloodline in a more comprehensive and efficient manor.

The results obtained by Daniel demonstrate clearly the efficiency of this process, together with his ability of accurate observation that has allowed him to achieve a new proposal for the aesthetic show bird. Like any consistent change, the "style" of Daniel´s budgerigars is beyond his time and will therefore cause an apparent resistance from some people. I have no doubt that many of the characteristics of Daniel's birds will be gradually incorporated into the model of the modern show bird.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Daniel for the friendly and attentive way in which he welcomed us to his home. Our visit will be recorded in my memory forever. The trip was certainly outstanding for all of the Brazilian breeders, not only for the excellent learning opportunity, but also for the happiness of meeting great people.

Fulvio Lucietto – Brazilian breeder and budgerigar’s judge

( budgerigart.blogspot.com)

Translated by Luiz Américo de Souza