Budgerigar fanciers have heard about, or seen, the Crested
variety and a few have appreciated their merits by taking up the
challenge of breeding them. My aim is to give some background
about this variety. The Crested Budgerigar is neither a recent
mutation, an abnormal feather growth nor in any way related to
"feather-dusters". However, it is a naturally occurring mutation
which owes nothing to man for its appearance, except for its
development. This mutation causes the feathers, in certain
limited areas of the bird's body, to change the direction of
their growth, causing feather disturbances. The earliest
recorded occurrence of a Crested mutation was in Sydney,
Australia in about 1920. From this bird, presumably, the
Australian-strain Crests was bred. As there was no control over
their export at that time, it is a possibility that some Crested
birds were brought to other countries. But we in the CBC,
believe that the Crested variety has a multi-origin as with
certain other Budgerigar varieties (e.g., Yellow