Blue budgies and Japanese cars

First recorded appearance of the blue budgerigar mutation

Photo © spookybear

The blue budgerigar made its first recorded appearance in 1878. The budgerigars are said to be owned by a certain M. Limbosch in a suburb of Brussels, Belgium. Barely 3 years later, this strain died out and blue budgies seemed to have disappeared from our world. A few years later, some blue budgies occasionally occurred in Dutch aviaries. This was still a very rare thing to happen.

The first blue budgies to be seen in England were a couple exhibited by Messrs Millsum and Pauwels at the Horticultural Hall in 1910 and the Crystal Palace in 1911.

Expensive rarity

Blue budgies remained a rarity until the 1930s. People in Japan were prepared to pay £100 for blue budgies, which is about the cost of a car at that time!

Photo © theresanupsideofdown

Welcome home, Frodo and Isla

Today was another big day for us: we bought our first two budgies!

Click to view full size

Frodo (on the left) doesn't seem to be one of the most common types. I think he might have a grey factor, but he's also leaning towards violet. Isla (on the right) is almost certainly a dark-eyed clear.

The budgies are now sleeping peacefully after an exhausting first day. You know the first day is always a bit scary for new budgies, because they need time to get used to their new environment.

I was glad to hear both of them grind their beak at night, though... I think we've got two happy budgies here :)

The first blue budgerigar

In the beginning of the 20th century, the keeping and breeding of budgerigars became very popular all around the world. Consequently, various colours and mutations occurred during this period.

Painting by Michael Creese

This is dedicated to all people who like blue budgies: the first sky blue budgerigar was recorded in 1878 in Belgium (suddenly I like my home country a little bit more!). Sadly, this mutation disappeared only a few years later, because very little was known about budgies back then, and no one understood how the colours were created.

Super rare mutation: the Feather Duster budgie

We all know Whipper, but is he the only one of his kind? What actually causes this mutation and what are the consequences for these birds?

Some breeders feel they are going to have a really good show budgie... for it's the English show budgies that produce the feather dusters. The baby comes and after 4 weeks, the feather growing speeds up. Suddenly the number of feathers has doubled again, and they just continue to grow. Image © Space Station Nathan

Some things you may not know about feather duster budgies:

• It's not a species, but a super rare mutation among budgerigars. It should not be confused with the crested budgie, where the curled feathers are on the crest or the top of the head. 
• Whipper is definitely not the only one out there - he is known to be the fourth feather duster budgie where the mutation happened by accident.
• The first case of this mutation was reported in 1966, the budgie in question was a baby of two English show budgies. Apparently they are the only kind of budgies that are able to produce a feather duster bird.
• The funny appearance of the birds is said to be the result of a mutation in a recessive gene. That means, if both parents carry the "mutation gene" but don't pass it on, they will produce normal-looking babies. It's only when both parents pass it on, that the "mutation gene" will actually be visible in the baby bird.
• The mutation is sometimes referred to as the " Budgie Down Syndrome", because of the impairment in physical growth and short life span. Most budgies succumb to complementary illnesses before they are even 12 months old.
• It appears that breeders don't wish to breed for a feather duster - they would rather avoid it since the budgies don't live long enough. If a feather duster occurs, most do not not breed that particular pair again. They actually separate the mother and the father from each other to avoid this from happening!

Whipper is not alone! Meet Munchkin, another Feather Duster budgie:

•  Feather dusters start out as a normal-looking baby, but this changes as the feathers start to grow. The feathers will continue to grow in curls, without stopping as a normal budgie's feathers stop to grow.
• Feather duster budgies don't live as long as normal budgies (they only live 2 - 12 months): the reason for the short life seems to be that the bird cannot get enough nourishment to support the constant feather growth as well as to keep the rest of his body alive. Most feather dusters have trouble perching, climbing, preening and flying and can suffer severe muscle wasting (hence the reference to the Down Syndrome). It is said their eyes have a different shape and that they produce a different sound as a normal budgie.
• Providing a more nourishing diet may extend the life of the budgies*, but unfortunately, they will still be unable to fly or even perch normally. Most feather dusters just sit in their food plate all day long. They have to eat constantly to keep up with their rapid-changing body.
• The feathers also cover the budgies' face and eyes, which make it impossible for them to see normally and also interferes with eating. That is why some people decide to clip the feathers, especially around the head, so that their budgie can see and eat. This can be a very dangerous job; one of the breeders reports that one of his feather duster budgies died shortly afterwards he had clipped the feathers in the facial area. They also clip the feathers around the vent, so the budgies don't constantly dirty themselves when eliminating (remember, they poop every 15 minutes).
• Even after they molt, the new feathers grow back the same way as they did before: very long and curly.
• If it was not for the fact that these birds live extremely short lives, they would probably be quite popular as pets because of their unusual appearance.

* If you want, you can also read the article on Feather Duster budgies by author and budgerigar breeder Stephen Fowler. You can find it here.

Meanwhile: WWWD

What would Whipper do?

... if someone told him he looked like a feather duster and not like a budgie?
... if someone asked his owner if he always has a "bad hair day" ?

Whipper, who hatched right before Christmas 2003 (if I'm correct), was rejected twice by his parents. Out of mere instinct, his mother decided to take care only of the "normal" babies. His owner Julie Heyward found him sprawled on the ground, picked him up and put him back, only to find him lying on the floor again shortly afterwards.
Life in the aviary was too cruel for the bizarre-looking budgie, so his owner set him up home indoors in a bright purple cage. A lot of people think he's cute and, in more than one way, special.
Unfortunately, that charm is failing to impress other birds. None will look at him twice, even when he sings while hanging upside down. He will probably never find a mate who preens his feathers and sits close to him when the sun goes down. Before he started growing the long, curly feathers, he made some noises that were very unlike other budgie noises.

"He sounds more like a budgie every day, than in the beginning, when he made his own language. We put him next to the big aviary, so he's actually learning to speak like the other budgies. It's quite interesting." says his owner Julie Heyward.

I think Whipper would eventually find his place among the other budgies, if they give him the chance. It takes some time to get accustomed to him, but keeping him apart wouldn't do him any good. He has his loyal fans from all over the four corners of the Earth, but he needs bird company as well. He can't fly and they are not sure whether he can see or not, but otherwise he acts just like a normal budgie. Most budgies of the feather duster variety (the first one appeared in the fifties in the UK, as a result from showbird breeding) usually sit and do nothing. Whipper on the other hand is just himself and doesn't seem to be bothered by his long feathers at all! Now that is one strong budgie!

Blue budgies in the wild: a sad story

From time to time, a blue budgie is born in the wild. So it is possible! And not just blue budgies either; reports during the 18th and 19th century indicate sightings of dark factor, possibly violet factor, opaline and albino budgies.

How does this happen?

Image © Alicia Guzmán Moya

Natural mutations occur just as frequently in the wild as in captivity. Also, there have been reports of escaped budgies in Australia that might have found their way to the wild flocks in and around the Outback. If one of these escaped budgies was a blue budgie, and if he was able to join a flock, he might have had enough time to start a nest with one of the wild budgies.

Do they survive?

No, almost never. The life-threatening circumstances and dangers of the wild can't make a new mutation viable, given that budgies with different appearances caused by mutations stand out and completely lose the protection of "blending in" with the rest of the flock.
They are singled out and killed by predators, as it is easier to keep them in sight.

No hope for blue budgies

Some budgies do stand a chance, though. It is not unusual to find opalines, cinnamon- and greywinged budgies in the wild. You will sometimes even find grey green budgies, as they don't seem to stand out like a blue or a pied budgie would. A flock of thousands of green birds with a blue bird in the middle easily catches the eye of predators, and the hawks head straight for them. On top of that, coloured budgies are often killed by other budgies because of the danger they pose to the rest of the flock.

Image © text.nu

Let's all pamper our sweet blue budgies today, make them feel at home where they are appreciated! Budgies in the wild have no choice but to reject them, for the sake of survival.

Whipper the Budgie

There are thousands of possible colour mutations amongst budgies. It's impossible to count all of them. Still, this budgie is a bit different from the others. Meet Whipper the budgie!

Whipper the Budgie. Image © The Budgie Cage

He looks cute, but also kind of sad, doesn't he? From the moment of his birth, Whipper was rejected by his mother. He was thrown out of the cage twice, but luckily he was rescued by his owner Julie Hayward, who has been taking personal care of him ever since. His unusual appearance, long curly plumage, and vocalisations, which were caused by a genetic mutation made him famous in its home country New Zealand.

Whipper's vet declared him a mutant. Instead of the usual straight feathers on a budgie, Whipper has long, soft, curly plumage as you can see clearly on the picture above.
A young girl who used to take care of Whipper claims that "it's so cute how he's got really fluffy, curly bits…". Not only does Whippers plumage set him apart from other budgies, but his owner also states that "he doesn't make the same sound as a budgie." But it's really sweet, you can check it out in the video below.



Whipper is actually classed as a “Feather duster” variety of budgie (a mutation which causes unrestricted feather growth), and is actually the 4th ever of his kind. He is slightly different to other feather dusters in the sense that the other 3 feather dusters have been known to merely sit and stare at the floor of their cage. Whipper, however, seems to be quite normal; he eats well, sings, is very social and does normal Budgie things; however he is unable to fly and it is also believed that he is blind.

Whipper and his owner © the Whipper Fan Page

 Information and pictures are © The Budgie Cage & Whipper's Official Fan Page