Excellence in Exhibition

EXCELLENCE IN EXHIBITION

Capturing one of the most elite show wins in aviculture:
The American Federation of Aviculture’s
“Best Bred-by-Exhibitor” National Show Award!

©2006 Linda S. Rubin
Reprinted from June 2006 issue of BIRD TIMES magazine



For bird show exhibitors, winning top achievement awards at a bird show is a great thrill, and there is no greater accolade than to win a national show with a bird of your own breeding. That special honor is exemplified through a distinguished award bestowed each year by the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA), for the “Best Bird Bred & Banded by an AFA Member” placing highest at the national shows. AFA Life Member Sally Huntington of San Diego, California was the recipient of this year’s prestigious AFA award at the 57^th National Cage Bird Show (NCBS) held November 18-19, 2005 in Dallas, Texas.

The winning bird, a superb black gray society finch, Lonchura domestica, first won the best finch or softbill in division - the top award presented by the National Finch and Softbill Society (NFSS), an affiliate organization of AFA. Huntington’s outstanding society finch went on to win the AFA Show Award because it ranked highest overall in the show as a bird bred and closed banded by the exhibitor.

The prestige of winning the AFA Best Bird Bred by Exhibitor Award at the NCBS is highly respected by exhibitors, because it reflects the combined tally of votes from 18 certified show judges representing all 19 divisions of the show. The award reflects well upon the division judge who places the entry as first choice for their division, because it expresses the shared opinion of the 17 other judges who collectively voted for the same bird.

NFSS Panel Judge Dale Laird, who placed the black grey society finch in first place in the NFSS division of the show commented, “I have judged hundreds of society finches over the years and this was the very best society finch I have ever seen. I knew this finch was the benchmark the rest had to beat. It met every point in the show standard; there was not a feather out of place and the bird was very comfortable in its surroundings. I could not have asked for a better representative of the finch and softbill division that day.”

The presentation at the NCBS Saturday evening banquet took place before hundreds of exhibitors. The event marked a decade of recognition from the American Federation of Aviculture in acknowledging the accomplishments of its members who breed and exhibit their birds by national show standards.
Because exhibitors are more likely to return home to breed the birds placing highest in the shows, national show standards serve to reinforce the breeding of exceptional bloodlines by rewarding superior genes on the show bench. In addition to inherited characteristics, exhibitors must keep their show stock in peak condition, which is a reflection of good husbandry practices, top nutritional programs, frequent grooming and consistent show training.

This was not the first time Sally Huntington captured the AFA “Best Bird Bred & Banded by Exhibitor” award, she also took the honor at the 2002 NCBS in Santa Clara, California. After two Higgins Awards for the best finch or softbill in the NFSS division at the 2000 and 2005 NCBS, a NCBS Scannell trophy, and two AFA National Show Awards to her credit, Huntington still said of her recent win: “I was tickled to death!”

Adding to its recent distinction, this winning black grey society finch took “best finch” in the NFSS division at the Finch Society of San Diego County show earlier in 2005, and has a sister that also excelled in the shows. Furthermore, because it hatched in November of 2004, Huntington’s winning finch still has a bright future ahead on the show bench and as a potential breeder of future generations of offspring.

When asked why she chose to exhibit this particular society finch, Huntington replied that the finch was a hand-raised pet that was very calm and traveled well. “It also sings like a canary,” Huntington stated, explaining how as a young bird, newly fledged, the society finch lived next to another finch that dwelled with an American singer canary and had learned the canary’s song from the finch. “It is most unusual,” Huntington added, “It is now becoming better known that finches have a small ‘ability window’ to learn to mimic while they are young.”

Society finches are normally valued for their excellence as dependable foster parents that are willing to raise orphan chicks, chicks of other species, or chicks of rarer species that are more difficult to work with. Its worth as a reliable breeder, raising quality show stock is just the added “icing on the cake.”

Huntington, an NFSS panel judge, is completing her third, two-year term as president of the NFSS. She has been raising finches and softbills for more than 20 years and highly recommends society finches as outstanding pet and aviary birds.

“Society finches can live an average of five to 10 years and make an excellent pet bird,” states Huntington, “They’re very responsive, connect well with people, don’t chew or bite, and once tamed, remain so.”

The first AFA National Show Award was presented at the 1992 Great American Bird Show (GABS) in Metairie, Louisiana, in tribute to AFA members who exhibit their birds. In 1996, the AFA voted to reinstate the award. It has been presented nearly each year since at the GABS and the NCBS in recognition of the two largest national shows in the country. Plans are to present the AFA show award at these shows this year.

In order to qualify for the AFA National Show Award at the NCBS, exhibitors must submit a separate AFA show registration form for each division entered on the morning of the show. Exhibitors must supply the name of the species entered in the division, with the exhibitor’s personal band code - engraved on their entries’ closed, traceable leg bands - and their signature indicating they are a current member of the AFA. At the end of the show, the AFA show awards chair meets with the NCBS Scannell tally committee to determine the highest-ranking bred by exhibitor bird in the show. The potential winner’s name is then verified in the AFA database to be certain the membership is current.

It is not an uncommon event for local bird clubs and local bird shows to serve as a popular gateway into the world of aviculture for many bird owners. Bird shows are excellent educational venues and provide opportunities for the first-time bird owner, or experienced aviculturist, to learn more about their own birds as well as other species. Shows provide a bridge of awareness to join other national organizations and learn about them while increasing the bird owner’s knowledge of aviculture.

LINDA S. RUBIN, AFA National Show Awards Chair and Northeast Director established the AFA National Show Awards committee in 1996. A seasoned exhibitor and panel judge, she works to promote the committee’s goals and outreach program for members who enjoy exhibiting and improving the species of birds that they raise.

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