Dilute, Yellow or Whites (suffused), Greywing Dilute, Clearwing Dilute, no wonder Breeders are confused!

By Brett Doran

Until 1872 the only known colour or variety of budgerigar was the normal light green wild type. Any mutation that appeared in the wild would and still does have little chance of survival as they would stand out in a flock and therefore be an easy target for a predator. According to all accounts the dilute first appeared in 1872 in a Belgium aviary. This was the first mutation of the normal light green wild budgerigar. It is referred to in early literature as a "yellow" and in the Budgerigar Society of the UK Standard (1994) as "yellow (suffused)". According to W Watmough in his book "Cult of the Budgerigar", the first yellows were bred in the UK by Mr Joseph Abrahams in 1884. This particular bird can be seen at the National History Museum at Kensington where it is described as "A Pale Variety". The late W Swayland is said to have exhibited Yellows as early as 1886.

The terminology used in different countries and within Australia itself tends to confuse breeders and exhibitors as far as "Dilutes and Blackeyed Self'' in Australia and "Yellows Suffused and Light Yellows" in the UK are concerned. In Western Australia to add to the confusion we have some breeders using terms such as "Greywing Dilute and Clearwing Dilute" to contend with. Until breeders and judges alike realise that these combinations can't exist on the same bird, the fancy will continue to perpetuate these mythical varieties. Once you realise that Blackeyed Selfs (Cinnamon Dilutes) and Dilutes are genetically the same bird with one bred selectively for a number of generations for clarity from suffusion and combined with Cinnamon and the other the pure unmodified version of the variety you are on the way to understanding and recognising the Dilute. The same applies to the UK equivalents Light Yellows (Cinnamon Dilutes) and Yellow (Suffused), the birds are the same, the terminology is different.

Unless constant attention is paid to colour and suffusion, combined with outcrossing to Cinnamon, the Blackeyed Self will regress towards their original form, the Dilute. The Blackeyed Self is a complex and difficult variety to bring up to Exhibition Standard as you must combine a Recessive variety with a Sex Linked variety to produce the composite bird required for Exhibition. For the dedicated breeder looking for a challenge it would be a worthwhile addition to a stud. This is not really a variety suitable for a beginner who should in my opinion learn the basics with more straight forward varieties such as Normals, Opalines, Cinnamons and any of the Dominant varieties. Back to the subject of this article, the original form, the Dilute. Lets look at the English Colour Standard for this variety Yellow (Suffused) or as we call them, Dilute Green(Light, Dark or Olive).

MASK AND SPOTS : Buttercup yellow, ornamented by six evenly spaced large round very pale grey throat spots, the outer two being partially covered by the base of the cheek patches. The buttercup yellow of the mask extending over the frontal and crown, to merge with the very pale grey undulations at the back of the head. The frontal and crown should be clear and free from all markings.

GENERAL BODY COLOUR : Rump, breast, flanks and underparts yellow suffused with either LIGHT, DARK or OLIVE GREEN; this suffusion may vary in intensity from minimum to almost 50% of normal body colour depth.

MARKINGS : On cheeks, back of head, neck and wings very pale grey with a well defined buttercup yellow edge, all markings should be free from any intrusion of green suffusion.

PRIMARY FLIGHTS : Yellowish white to pale grey.

PRIMARY TAIL FEATHERS : Yellowish white to pale grey.

FEET AND LEGS : Pinkish blue/grey mottled.

EYES : Black with a white iris.

CHEEK PATCHES : very pale blue to pale violet.

There is of course a standard also for the White (Suffused). As can be seen from the description the body colour suffusion can vary markedly from almost the equivalent of a Black eyed Self to 50% body colour of the normal. The primary flights and tail feathers can vary greatly as well from off white to pale grey. From experience I have found most dilutes vary between 25% to 50% body colour suffusion, with Green series birds appearing to carry more suffusion than Blue series birds. This may only be an optical illusion which is far too complex to explain within the context of this article.

This variety along with Clearwings, Greywings, Rec Pieds and Fallows is a Recessive variety. This means that both parents must be carrying the gene either visually or in split form for Dilutes to appear in the nest.

The breeding expectations for this variety are set out below.

  • * Test mating required as birds are visually identical.
    •

    Most varieties are single mutations of particular genes. The Dilute shares a common connection with Clearwings and Greywings in that they are what we call Multiple Allelomorphs of the wild type gene. As T.G. Taylor describes it in his book "Genetics for Budgerigar Breeders", 'some genes are capable of mutating in more than one way, i.e., of existing in more than one mutant form, and such genes produce a series of what are known as multiple allelomorphs. The most important point to remember about these series is that all the mutant genes have the same locus as the wild-type gene from which they were derived'. Other groups of multiple allelomorphs include the Yellowface variations, and also Ino and Texas Clearbody.

    Now that we know it was the first mutation, and that it is a recessive variety and have a written standard for it what do we do with the Dilute. We breed with it of course! Why then has it become a most maligned variety in this country? Most breeders consider it of little value and generally they end up in the cull cage. Back in the old days it was used to improve Ino's. How would it improve Ino's you ask? An Ino masking Dilute would have its suffusion reduced markedly as the Dilute's body colour is only around 25% to 50% of its Normal equivalent. At the same time it doesn't affect the Ino's yellow or white body colour which is left. Therefore you are reducing any green or blue suffusion without reducing body colour.

    This would also apply to Double Factor Spangles. Breeders of D/F Spangles use Cinnamon for this purpose, so using Cinnamon Dilutes (Blackeyed Self) or Dilutes they would further reduce suffusion and the Dilute would also help to reduce any cinnamon markings which may appear. Dilutes are also a valuable outcross for Clearwing breeders in that they are recessive to Clearwing and when paired to Clearwings will produce Clearwings and Dilutes in the nest. They also assist in cleaning up wing markings on Clearwings.

    The Breeding Expectations are listed below.

  • *Test mating required as birds are visually identical.
    •

    In my opinion Dilutes are the best outcross for Clearwings if they are used with care and have superior type. As most Clearwings are split for Dilute pairing to normals is a risky business.

    The expectations are set out below.

    If the Clearwing is pure there's no problem, all splits will be Clearwing.

    Now lets look at the more common pairing as most Clearwings are split Dilute.

  • *Test mating required as birds are visually identical.
    •

    Now we come to the point where Murphy's Law takes over. We regularly read and hear that the best way to improve Recessives is to pair split to split. It's not that easy with Dilutes and Clearwings as I will show. As can be seen in the above pairing the resulting splits are indistinguishable visually, therefore we can't tell which are split Clearwing and which are split Dilute.

    Its now up to Mr Murphy whether you produce Clearwings or Dilutes and we know what he will do. We'll end up pairing split Dilute to split Dilute and end up with no Clearwings at all!

    As stated earlier I believe that the Dilute is the best outcross for Clearwing breeders but it must be used judiciously otherwise there will be a loss of body colour in your Clearwings. Care must also be taken using Dilutes in a Clearwing program as many Dilutes are also split Cinnamon due to the use of Cinnamon to produce Exhibition Blackeyes as mentioned earlier. When making these pairings always check carefully the eye colour of chicks in the first few days after hatching as any with red eyes which later revert to black will be carrying Cinnamon. This is where good record keeping is vital otherwise you could end up with an aviary full of Cinnamon Clearwings. As can be seen the Dilute is a useful bird in a number of breeding programs.

    The great advantage that the UK fanciers have over Australian fanciers is that the Budgerigar Society has a written description of all varieties whether they are accepted on the show bench in their own right or not. In Australia we have a written standard for only those varieties recognised by the ANBC. At one of the clubs I am involved with, the Budgerigar Society of WA we took a decision last year to put Dilutes in a class on their own at our shows. We have also split the Yellowfaces into separate classes for English and Australian Yellowfaces and also provided a separate class for Texas Clearbodies. Since doing so these varieties have had a resurgence in popularity far greater than even an optimist such as myself expected.

    We felt that if fanciers had the opportunity to see these birds in their own classes they would learn to recognise them for the varieties they are and appreciate their beauty and uniqueness. By putting classes of Greywings, Clearwings and Dilutes on the bench together it is a great assistance in educating members to differentiate between these sometimes difficult to distinguish varieties. We have found it to be a successful educational tool which has benefited a number of our members.

    In conclusion the Dilute has had little recognition in its own right over the years. If you are interested in colour breeding it adds an attractive pastel variety to your aviary. For the breeder looking to improve other varieties it can be useful if you are willing to use better quality normals to bring them up to standard. I don't believe it will ever gain recognition at National level but that shouldn't stop you breeding them if they catch your eye. Finally, I don't know what the situation is in other states but here in WA many of the birds benched over the years as Greywings have been Dilutes and dirty Clearwings. In fact we see very few true Greywings on the bench at all and when we do they regularly end up in the Cinnamon classes! But that's a discussion topic for another day.

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