Ideas on Breeding and Origin of Blue Budgerigars. 129 



Ideas on breeding and Origin of Blue Budgerigars. 



By j. W. Marsdkn. 



I am writing a few notes and ideas on breeding blue 

 builgerigars, thinking they may, perhaps, interest some readers. 

 This is only my fourth season of keeping these lieautiful birds. 

 Blue a])])cars to have always been my favourite colour in li\e 

 stock. When 1 kept Macaws, the Hyacinthian. was easily hrst 

 favourite. In Parrakeets, I always liked the Bauer's; in old 

 English, and modern game bantams the blues always came 

 first. I believe I was the first to produce blue Japanese bantams 

 When 1 kept waterfowl, the Hyacinthian (iallinule was al- 

 ways prominent in my aviaries; and in canines, the blue and 

 white harlequin (ireat Dane had most attraction for me, and 

 now 1 am keener than ever on Blue Budgerigars. 



As 1 stated in a former article, 1 bred last year, after 

 three seasons' preparation from a green hen (-Is blue, -K green. 

 ^4 yellow) and succeeded in breeding, two very fine blues. 

 Now it seems to me that what we should do is to get rid of the 

 yellow in the common green. If one takes the yellow away 

 from the yellow parts we get white, and taking the yellow from 

 the green parts we get blue (because blue x yellow = green, 

 therefore green — yellow =^ blue), so in using yellow to produce 

 blues, I should only use the very palest and washed out ones 1 

 could possibly get. 



As far as 1 know the origin of the blue is unknown, but 

 I think the breeder may have bred an albino, and in trying to 

 perpetuate the whites by inbreeding, by accident produced the 

 blues. I may be wrong, but in any case, it seems to me the 

 great thing is to eliminate the yellow. T cannot help thinking 

 that generations ago the original colour of the Budgerigar was 

 blue, and the yellow has been developed as a more protective 

 colour against the heat of the sun. ]\Ir. Milsum, and the Rev. 

 J. M. Paterson. both agree that blues must be bred and kept 

 in the shade. In the common greens the nest plumage 

 is more or less blue. and we know that in all 

 Nature the colour of the young indicates the original colour of 

 the bird or beast, many generations ago. Then again, blue, 

 and grey-blue appear to be the primary colours of all nature. 



