Hybridization

Hybridization - You be the Judge!

By Kevin Wirick

There has been a lot of discussion in bird circles as to the value of hybrid birds. Hybrid birds are birds produced by crossing birds between two species such as a scarlet macaw (Ara macao) and a blue and gold macaw (Ara ararauna). This rarely happens in the wild; the birds will normally mate with their own kind. Hybrids are also normally mules (i.e., unable to produce young).

Hybridization is much different from mutations. A mutation occurs naturally and can be expanded upon in captivity to try to improve this new variety. About 15 years ago I went to someone home to remove zebra finches from their aviary. There I found what would now be called the black breasted zebra finches. The owner did not even know this mutation had even taken place in his aviary. These were the first that I ever saw. Since this was a desirable mutation, breeders would breed father/daughter or mother/son in order to strengthen this new variety.

We have all benefited from mutations. Think of all the varieties of Cockatiels that are available to us today. We certainly have a lot more variety available to us than the normal or wild colored cockatiel. The budgie is another fine example of color mutations that have occurred in captivity.

Mutations can occur over a long period of time. Remember that the first canary was green. In a book New-Colored Canaries, A.K.Gill, about 1954, he notes the following:

From the sixteen century to 1900, so far as can be judged from extant records, fanciers, by selective breeding, produced from green canaries six new types-green-variegateds, cinnamon-variegateds, dark-eyed clears, pink-eyed clears, crested canaries and frilled canaries.

From 1900 to 1953, by the same method, they produced slate-blue, fawn,orange,apricot, red orange cinnamon canaries and dimorphic males and females showing something of the secondary sexual dimorphism of the hooded siskin.

The society finch is one bird that does not even exist in the wild was the result of multiple crossing. The society finch has come to us from China and Japan about 1700. This bird is a cross of the cutthroat, spice finch and other manikin (Lonchura family ) finches. This bird has become very valuable to foster birds of rare species.

Just to touch on in-breeding; I have seen people so obsessed with the raising of "rare and expensive" birds that they have in-bred so much that the birds don't even know how to raise young. All the money in the world is not worth the destruction of a species.

Some hybridization's that I have seen in the book Mules & Hybrids dating back to the early 1930's would include the crossing of Green Singing finch X Siskin; Saffron Finch X Chaffinch; Crossbill X Hawfinch. The showing of these birds seemed to be a status symbol for breeders of the day. It seemed the more bazaar the cross the more "feathers" in your cap.

Times have change though. We as breeders of birds need to be more responsible to keeping the species stronger and true. We are no longer so privy to go back to the jungle and catch birds and start over. For a bird breeder to put in the time to breed parrots or any other type of bird and not keeping the species pure is morally wrong. What value have you added to the bird world by making bizarre crosses. Is it really worth the challenge to start over by crossing a red head siskin x green canary to see how breeders have done this before? In my opinion, this would take you years before you were to get to where the red birds are today. It is more practical to raise the red headed siskin than to hybridize.

The breeding of cross breeding parrots has happened and will probably continue.

Are you breeding a better bird or are you just breeding your birds. Surely you as a breeder should have the fortitude to keep the species pure. There are plenty of birds available from breeders today to keep the species pure. If you do not have the desire to keep the species strong then you should consider just keeping birds for pets and leave the serious breeding to those who wish to maintain the species for future generations.

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