46 

 ON JUDGING FOREIGN BIRDS. 



Judging foreign birds differs essentially from judging 

 the artificial varieties of Canaries, Pigeons, and Dogs. In 

 the case of the latter there are certain definite standards 

 of perfection to which breeders and exhibitors try to 

 make their animals conform, and the duty of the judge 

 consists in assigning their just values to certain arbitrary 

 points. The judge of foreign birds, however, has no such 

 standard with which to compare liis exhibits. No 

 Society, so far as I know, has ever even attempted to 

 formulate rules for judging foreign birds, anci every judge 

 therefore has to a great extent to create and carry out his 

 own rules. Under these circumstances it can liardh- be 

 a matter for wonder that foreign bird judging has often 

 been rather a haphazard matter, and has sometimes given 

 more dissatisfaction at Shows than the judging of 

 Canaries and British birds. 



In judging foreign birds there are, in my opinion, two 

 points to which equal attention should be paid and for 

 which equal credit should be given : (ii condition, (2) 

 rarity. 



In givingcredit for condition, that is for perfection of 

 plumage and bodily form, the relative difficulty of keep- 

 ing different birds of this class in health and condition 

 should always be kept in mind. Here the " all-round " 

 judge generally comes to grief Having had little or no 

 practical experience in keeping foreign l)irds, he awards 

 the prize to the bird which happens to have the best 

 appearance on the Show bench, exalting a Java 

 vSparrow or Zebra-finch over a Gouldian or a Green 

 Avadavat, which are far more difficult to keep in good 

 plumage. 



Again, in considering the question of rarity, the judge 

 must remember that there are many birds which are 

 rarely seen in confinement simply because the}- are 

 unattractive or unsuitable for captivity, and therefore 

 there is little or no demand for them. 



A third point which would naturally influence a 



