QFS Finch Auction - Bengalese Suprise Value

24 Sep 2013, 21:45

Hi All,

One of my ABBS friends from Qld shared this receipt from a QFS auction this year.
I thought it was worth sharing because his Bengos fetched quite a figure.
Bare in mind they are Exhibition Quality Pied Bengalese (as would the Zebras be) and examples of a fairly rare Dilute Fawn Mutation but regardless it shows that good quality Bengalese are not necessarily that common.... but you can make your own view on that one

FYI

Bengalese Auction.jpg

Dilute Fawn AFF.jpg

Cheers.

25 Sep 2013, 08:10

glad to see the auction was a success.
also happy to note we are a diversified bunch in that different species/mutations excite each of us. If we all strived for the same result we would be a boring lot indeed.
nobody ever complained about being paid too much for quality finches....strong healthy birds should command a premium in my view.
thanks for the pics as well.

25 Sep 2013, 09:09

AB,the bottom bengo in the pic seems to have an extra long bill,does that effect the standard. Craig

25 Sep 2013, 09:16

Craig52 wrote:AB,the bottom bengo in the pic seems to have an extra long bill,does that effect the standard. Craig

With Zebras, the idea is to breed a beak as short as possible to give the bird a rounder full bodied appearance. Exhibition Zebras have had a heck of a lot more time invested into them than Bengos in Australia so simply getting good quality Finches with good colour, markings and type is a large task in itself, however the idea would be to follow suit with this idea and select for shorter beaks over time.

Cheers

25 Sep 2013, 11:05

I thought to get a good quality Finch for the show bench you had type as the bench mark.
Breeding longer or shorter beaks dismisses the type.
I know Bengales are a fertile hybrid but a line has to be drawn some where.
Today Budgies being benched are nothing like the original(type),ugly boof headed individuals.
Zebras are so big they are nearly Diamond Firetail size, why.
Imagine benching a Longtail(Back Heart),big body, big head, good feather but a smaller tail
without the curls, does it beat a smaller bird but with a proper tail ??? it's called a Longtail for a reason.
How often do we see a Gouldian with that proper tail configuration, two long thin tail feathers.
I can remember judges including I just turning boxes around because of lack of type and ignoring
feather condition and size.
This is one reason why showing is far less popular than years ago.

25 Sep 2013, 11:41

E Orix wrote:I thought to get a good quality Finch for the show bench you had type as the bench mark.
Breeding longer or shorter beaks dismisses the type.
I know Bengales are a fertile hybrid but a line has to be drawn some where.
Today Budgies being benched are nothing like the original(type),ugly boof headed individuals.
Zebras are so big they are nearly Diamond Firetail size, why.
Imagine benching a Longtail(Back Heart),big body, big head, good feather but a smaller tail
without the curls, does it beat a smaller bird but with a proper tail ??? it's called a Longtail for a reason.
How often do we see a Gouldian with that proper tail configuration, two long thin tail feathers.
I can remember judges including I just turning boxes around because of lack of type and ignoring
feather condition and size.
This is one reason why showing is far less popular than years ago.

I agree with most of your comments.
I'm not sure of the line you're referring to here. There is a great deal of variation in Bengalese (and all finches) type as well as things like beak size to a degree. My point really is to agree with Craig that the beak on this one is fairly long compared to most Bengos, so if I had to choose between two of these to keep in my stock, one with a more normal in proportion beak and one that is more elongated like this I would cull the latter. I dont see whats wrong in selecting for an ideal bird. However, as I did mention, details like this are secondary to good type, feather and markings.
I think that the lack of ideal features these days on Finches like Longtails are Gouldians (e.g. Tails and orange breast bar etc.) is mainly due to the lack of Exhibition breeders (or breeders in general) who would normally take the time to select birds that were strong in these traits as the Exhibition Standard will call for such things. These days the general decline in good colour, type, markings and features of Finches is primarily because there are fewer breeders who intentionally pair up ideal birds (like the exhibitors did) rather than have random colonies or whatever comes to hand. I wish there was a larger following of Finch exhibiting than there is, it would be a shame to loose this aspect of our hobby.

Just for my own two cents and "opinion", I don't believe that the Bengalese is a hybrid any more than a Ruddie is (possibly a mixture of subspecies if at all).

Thanks for the feedback.

25 Sep 2013, 19:30

Quote:This is one reason why showing is far less popular than years ago.

I am currently planning a trip to the world show in Holland. Over 30.000 exhibits.

Is it really getting less or is it that there are fewer birdkeepers across the board and that it's a dying hobby for whatever reason.

But back on topic.
Here a link to a good Bengalese site. Some text in English but the pictures speak for themselves.

Cheers, Case, currently in Perth ( bl.... y cold bye the way after months in the Top end)

25 Sep 2013, 19:31

Quote:This is one reason why showing is far less popular than years ago.

I am currently planning a trip to the world show in Holland. Over 30.000 exhibits.

Is it really getting less or is it that there are fewer birdkeepers across the board and that it's a dying hobby for whatever reason.

But back on topic.
Here a link to a good Bengalese site. Some text in English but the pictures speak for themselves.

http://www.jmc-lonchura.nl/

Cheers, Case, currently in Perth ( bl.... y cold bye the way after months in the Top end)

25 Sep 2013, 20:26

casehulsebosch wrote:Quote:This is one reason why showing is far less popular than years ago.

I am currently planning a trip to the world show in Holland. Over 30.000 exhibits.

Is it really getting less or is it that there are fewer birdkeepers across the board and that it's a dying hobby for whatever reason.

Wow! Very cool.
From what I understand exhibiting is still considerably stronger in Europe, especially when comparing to Australia. One of my most regarded mentors tells me that in Australia the number of finch breeders is possibly similar to years gone, however here has been a definite drop in the number of exhibitors and in the following in general.
Despite this, in my opinion it seems there are not many young people latching onto this great hobby of hours compared to before........but that's why the AFF is so important today.

I've seen some pictures of shows like this, it's quite mind blowing the sheer number of isles and banks of show cages packed into a massive show pavilion. It would be nice to see something like that one day, but I think you'd need a week to see everything

Cheers

25 Sep 2013, 20:37

I had a pair (siblings) of dilutes like that (probably not as good of course) but lost the hen without her breeding. Trying to get the cock to get his mojo going with a chestnut pied hen at the moment. One of the reasons shows may not be as common in Australia as Europe is the tyrany of distance.
LML