Budgies of Colour: A New Chapter for the BSSA

Everything comes back to budgies—the first bird many of us ever owned. Now, the Budgerigar Society of South Africa (BSSA) is opening a new chapter for these much-loved little birds.

I know the satisfaction of carefully pairing birds to develop particular qualities in a show budgerigar. Yet many of us still keep smaller budgies alongside them. Whether we planned it or not, they seem to be in our blood.

Their chatter, character and personality bring something special to the aviary. And when we do breed them, opening a nest box and finding chicks is a joy that never grows old.

More opportunities for Budgies of Colour

For the first time in BSSA history, Budgies of Colour (BOC) will have a full range of classes on the show bench, rather than just two.

This creates opportunities for ordinary hobby breeders and those who have spent years improving the quality of their birds. There will be rosettes to work towards, points to earn and a clearer opportunity to develop within the hobby.

What excites me most is what this could mean for smaller breeders and our juniors. Everyone will begin at Novice level, giving all participants the same starting point. Even established exhibition budgerigar champions will have an opportunity to take on a fresh challenge.

Uniondale will host the first show

The KABC show in Uniondale will be the first to offer the full range of BOC classes.

Albert Olivier will be the judge. In my opinion, his considerable experience judging Budgies of Colour makes him well suited to this occasion.

Paul Visser, who has budgies close to his heart, is the BOC representative. His role is to represent everyone, and we need breeders to get involved and support this new chapter.

How the classes will work

There will be no separate Young Bird classes as there are for exhibition budgerigars. Instead, hens and cocks will be entered separately in Any Age classes.

All exhibitors will start as Novices. Whether you are entering your first show or have years of experience with exhibition budgerigars, this is an opportunity to begin something new together.

Bring your birds and be part of it

If you keep Budgies of Colour, please support this development by entering your birds.

Even if you enter several birds in one class and find yourself competing against your own entries, your participation matters. Building entries is part of building the future of this section.

For those of us who have always enjoyed these little birds, this is something to look forward to: more opportunities to participate, improve our birds and encourage the next generation of budgie enthusiasts.

The complete Colour Standards for this breed is the same as the mainstream birds and this can be found on the www.world-budgerigar.org and important details of the breed can also be found on the BS website www.budgerigarsociety.com under “Pictorial Ideal Budgerigars”. The Scale of Points for this breed differs from the mainstream birds and is as follows:

Colour                               25 points

Variety Markings             15 points

Mask & Spots                  10 points

Condition                         20 points

Size & Length                   20 points

Position & Shape             10 points

45 Degrees On The Perch

From the Colour Budgerigar Pictorial Standard, you will notice that the position of the bird on the perch is 45 degrees and the Ideal length is between 17 – 18 cm. Spots are evenly spaced and about 2mm in diameter. Condition is absolutely essential, and the colour should be uniform throughout.