My first pairing 2013 - Funkie to Fatina.

Funkie was paired to a female named Fatina. They were both bred by DDS. This carefully planned pairing from an established line was done with the objective to perpetuate their much desired traits, the result from a decade and a half of selective line breeding by my good friend. Hopefully, this pairing, besides further strengthening their common desirable traits, will also lay the foundation for the much hoped for combination of their individual yet complimentary characteristics.

Funkie is the son of Apache, most well known for his song quality and easily one of my favourites from the DDS stable of captive breds. Funkie has inherited well from his father, the vocal aggression to intimidate during a confrontation and the ability to form a wide repertoire. His eagerness to show off his vocal ability is most desirable. With his short, almost unnoticeable pauses between songs, he would effortlessly, churn out half a dozen songs in the time others could only sing one.

Equally admirable is his tenacity in the face of adversities. Having gone through a bad molt due to circumstances beyond my control, he was still able to go into breeding mode. Up to now, he had already fathered a clutch, despite having a fit (probably due to dietary abuse) and at the same time being tested to the limit in my quest to prove that sequential polygynous breeding in captivity is possible. Such tenacity is as important to me as any of the most desirable physical attributes when it comes to traits that we would hope to breed into future generations. Other non physical qualities are his parental ability to care for the young and his calm disposition during the period when it will be needed most. He had showed no tendency this far, for egg or chick destruction even under the most intimidating circumstances and this I think, should be an important trait to breed for as well.

Funkie is slightly lacking in the desired 'good sized head'. His tail carriage although very showy in terms of variety in movements during a chai, could do better with improvements to height of flick. Fatina on the other hand, was chosen from a background known to have the head type and tail flick qualities to hopefully, compliment Funkie's attributes. At his best, Funkie's tail length was 14 inches. Fatina's tail length, with my conservative estimate, is no shorter than 7.5 inches. A desirable tail must also be soft and curved besides having substantial length. Coming from a line of well-bred birds known for their elegant tail feathers, Funkie and Fatina is also expected to breed true for this trait.