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Although the Fife is a breed for type rather than colour alone, it has a wide range of colours & variations. Some of these variations are caused by the coarseness of the feather, others by the mix or lack of Lipochrome and Melanin. The feather is made up of thin tubes, these carry the yellow Lipochrome colour, which acts as a base colour for the Canary. Some birds however produce course feathers (hard feather), which carry the colour to the very edge of the feather. This gives a strong yellow colour, which is why these birds are called "Yellows" even when no yellow can be seen e.g. Self coloured birds. Sometimes you will breed a bird that is a washed out Yellow, this is known as a "Lemon" colour, but is still shown as a Yellow bird. You can distinguish a Lemon from a Buff because it has no frosting (see below). Other birds produce finer feathers (soft feather), which has thinner tube & doesn't carry the yellow Lipochrome to the edge of the feather. The edge of these feathers appears to be white, this can be seen as light bands between the yellow colouring, which is known as "Frosting" & this gives the bird a pale yellow colour. These birds are called "Buffs". A Dominant white is a bird who's feather has mutated. This mutation reflects the light making a bird appear white. In these birds the Lipochrome may still be present in the feather, but remains almost totally unseen. On clear & variegated white birds these can be identified by a flash of pale yellow on their wings where the yellow Lipochrome can still be seen. This dominant white also acts as a base colour for the Canary. It can be difficult to tell a soft (buff equivalent) or hard (yellow equivalent) feathered white bird. If you are unsure its best to treat them as Buffs when you decide on your pairs. You should never pair two Dominant white birds together as there is a 25% chance of producing a lethal gene, which will cause death in shell to those youngsters with that gene. Normal (yellow/green) youngsters from a white-ground adult do not carry a Dominant white gene and will never produce white youngsters if paired to a normal yellow/green bird. Only Dominant white-ground birds can produce Dominant white youngsters. A Recessive white is a bird who's Lipochrome (Yellow colouring in the Feather) has been completely suppressed . When you look closely at a Recessive white bird the feathers are translucent with no colour in them at all. One breeder described this as looking at a fine mist. The quill & feather tubes reflect white light, which is why a Recessive white is pure white with no yellow flashes of colour like the Dominant white above. This form of white is also known as the English white and is far less common than the Dominant white Canary. To my knowledge there are no Recessive White Fife Canaries. Most Recessive white canaries are bred by New Colour Canary breeders. Advantages
Disadvantages
The chart below shows how to establish what youngster you can expect from white birds. Please note any combination that leads to "WW" (Dominant) is lethal & white aren't sex linked as they are with Cinnamons.
Melanin superimposed on yellow Lipochrome Wild Canaries carry two Melanin colours, black & brown. The combination of the black, brown & yellow (Lipochrome), gives a green appearance, which is the Canaries true colour. It is also possible to produce canaries that suppress the black melanin leaving only the brown & the yellow. These colour is called Cinnamon. Melanin superimposed on the white canary Because the yellow lipochrome is either suppressed or masked by the feather mutation, the melanin colours are mixed with the white base colour. When both black & brown are mixed with the white, this produces a gray colour referred to by breeders as blue. When the black is suppressed the brown, white combination produces a faun coloured bird. Now we know the combinations created by the base yellows & white and the melanin blacks & browns we classify birds by their colour & by their markings: Clear - A bird that shows no dark (Melanin) feathers, so they are either Clear Yellow, Clear Buff or Clear White. Ticked - A bird which has not more than one dark mark coverable by a new penny or three dark feathers side by side on the wing or tail. Some birds may display a "Grizzle" marking, which is a fine mix of light & dark feathers giving a speckled effect. Depending on the size of this mark a bird may be ticked or variegated. Variegated - A variegated bird must be less than 50% dark feathers. Heavily variegated to be greater than 50% dark feathers and two separate classes are usually provided. Heavy Variegated - A bird must be more than 50% dark to be classed as a Heavy variegated. Normally three parts dark & foul marked birds would be in a different class, but some shows they are grouped together under the Heavy Variegated class. Three parts dark - A classification not used these days, but signified a bird who had a single light mark that covered 25% of the plumage. These are typically classified as heavily variegated. Foul - A bird which has not more than one light mark coverable by a penny or three light feathers side by side on the wing or tail. Self - A self bird must be completely dark i.e. no light feathers. Below are some colour combination examples:
This page was last updated on 18-Nov-2005 . |
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