Abstract
Dear. Editor:
I am writing this regarding two articles by Tony Bucci in which he made erroneous statements.
In the first of these he was discussing color and listed "ivory" as white ground. If this is true, where do we get Ivory (a pale yellow similar to old piano keys) and Rose Ivory (a very soft pinky redorange)?
Both of these colors appear to be diluted variations of yellow and redorange. Microscopically, the feathers of both ivory variants have the same amount of coloring agent as "normal" birds, but the arrangement within the feathers is altered in such a way that the color is not observable in its full intensity. Calling an ivory bird white ground is like calling a green opal sky-blue.
The second error made by Mr. Bucci was in an article on Crested Canaries in which he states, "Also, we must use a Plainhead (Crest bred) to produce a good Crest. If we do not use Crest bred Plainheads, we will produce a very bad Crest." Hogwash! The "Crest-bred" fantasy is an old wives tale that should have been put to rest a hundred years ago.
As I explained in an early article on genetics, cresting is a simple dominant and no plainhead (crest-bred or not) "carries" a genetic factor directly influencing crest quality. Indirectly, plainheads used in such matings do have an influence on crest quality, but this has nothing to do with "crest-bred". Topknots are crested canaries with normally very poor crests.
Most of these are common canary stock with large beaks and snaky (thin) heads. Should a plainhead of this "crest-bred" stock be mated to a champion Gloster corona, the result will be lousy crests.
On the other hand, a bird bred from non-crested stock for 100 generations that has a small beak and a broad, well rounded head, mated to the same Gloster corona, will have as good a chance of producing good crests as a Gloster plainhead of comparable quality. In short, the shape of the plainhead's head is the determining factor, crest-bred or not.
Sincerely yours, Joseph G. Griffith Costa Mesa, CA.
Dear Editor,
This is a reply to Mr. Griffith's comments in reference to the article written in Watchbird, Vol. 3, No. 2, Apr/May 1976. White, blue and ivory are white ground canaries. I stand corrected to read: White, blue and silver are white ground canaries.
Watchbird, Vol. 3, No. 6, Dec/Jan 1977. I will not change my stand in reference to crested canary, instead I will backup my statements with reference material. Stroud's Digest On The Diseases of Birds, Robert Stoud, Pages 56-59 states that; "The factors making up the crest, determining its shape, size, color, etc., are independent of the crestfactor, responsible for the development of the crest. To illustrate: I once bred some crest-bred ( crest-bred birds are those having one crested parent but no crest) Norwich canaries together for a number of generations. Since all of the birds lacked the crest-factor, no crests were produced. Then I mated one of these birds to a small roller with a very scrubby crest. The crested young developed large Norwich-type crests, proving that the presence of the crest came from one parent, its shape, size, etc., from the other. This means that the crest-factor and the factor responsible for the kind of crest that develops are contained in different chromosomes."
A.C.B.M. canary comments by Harold Sodamann, Vol. 47, Sept. 1975 states that: "In my judgement the non-crested or crest-bred in the pair really is the more important."
"Therefore, it is better that the crestbred be descended from a line of crested canaries possessing the right head for successful crest breeding."
Encyclopedia of Canaries-Parakeets and Other Cage Birds, Nola Miller Fogg, pages 17-20. States that: "The first rule to be observed in pairing birds for crest breeding is to mate a crest with a crestbred. Before going further, I ought to explain, that the crest-bred is bred from pairing a crest to a plain-head."
In the past, I have attempted to breed crest on breeds like, opals, satinets and red factors using good gloster crest (corona) for the opposite mate.
On each attempt, I came up with topknots and bald-headed birds. Last year we mated gloster hen corona to a red factor plain plainhead Norwich cross. The crested birds produced from this mating, had very good crest. I am positive that Norwich cross had crest-bred blood lines which contributed to the good crest.
In conclusion, topknot is a bad crest and can be produced from a non crestbred plain-head. But to produce a good crest (corona) we must use "crest-bred" plain-head with a broad and well rounded head.
I am positive, if the novice or advanced breeder follows these simple rules, he will have a good chance in breeding a good crest.
Respectively, Tony Bucci