Classic Frill: Background is the Classic Oriental Frill is an exhibition breed of pigeon from the Owl Family (Levi, 1965). It is also known as the Old Fashioned Oriental Frill and Old Style Oriental Frill. It is the precursor breed from which the Modern Oriental Frill was created. It is a beautiful ancient pigeon breed, which can now be seen on exhibit at major American and Canadian shows. For more information on the description, characteristics, and history of this fancy pigeon please click here or see website section "About Our Frills".
Reference: Encyclopedia of Pigeon Breeds. Wendell M. Levi. Jersey City, 1965 Second edition 1996.
NOTE: This page provides the overall Standard for both Satinettes and Blondinettes however see specific pages on each within this Standard and Judging information website section with associated sub-pages that includes additional information for both Satinettes and Blondinettes (to include the approved picture of the Standard) as well as color classes, numbering, charts, and faults/disqualification.
GENERAL IMPRESSION:
A small to medium sized (average weight 11-12 oz.) cobby pigeon, with a jaunty disposition. Stations at near to a 45-degree angle with the tip of the tail just clearing the floor. Typical characteristics include a breast frill, peak crest, grouse muffs, and a medium-short thick beak. Satinettes are shield marked / tail marked bird with white bars or laces on their shield and Moon Spots or laces on their tail. Blondinettes are whole-colored birds which also possess with bars and lacing on the shield and Moon Spots or lacing on the tail. Some varieties have the lacing extending over most of the body.
HEAD: Roundish to slightly oval, substantial, wide. Arch forehead the flows in a smooth, continuous curve from the tip of the beak to the tip of the peak. Wattle small and neat.
EYE: Large, bright and prominent. Eye cere fine in texture and flesh colored. Bull eyes in Satinettes. The eye in the Blondinettes to be yellow gravel to deep red brown depending on the variety.
BEAK: Medium short in length, substantial/thick, blending into the forehead in a smooth, uninterrupted curve. Flesh colored in Satinettes, flesh to horn to black in Blondinettes, depending upon the variety. Wattle small and smooth. Classic Frills can feed their young and do not need feeders.
CREST: Needlepoint Peak Crest. Upright and central. Rising at least as high as the highest part of the head. Peak crest supported by a well-developed mane, without any sign of a mane break. (The indentation between the Peak Crest and the mane).
NECK: Short and strong, appearing thick due to the mane at the back of the neck, and the gullet. Held proudly, and upright so that the eye is directly over the juncture of the toes with the ankle. There should be a pronounced gullet extending from just under the lower mandible down the throat into the frill.
FRILL: The frill should extend from the middle of the gullet and continue into the breast (ideally 2" in length). It should be well developed and profuse. A short, more profuse frill is preferred over one that is sparse but greater in length. Feathers to grow outward to both sides uniformly. Feathers that grow only to one side or disproportionately to one side will be penalized. Rose shaped frills will be penalized.
BREAST and BODY FORM: Breast is broad, well rounded, held forward prominently and tapering toward the rear of the bird. Size is small to medium with Body Form to be firm, compact, and cobby.
WINGS: Strong, lying close to the body, covering the back, without "sails", and lying flat on the tail.
LEGS: Short, profusely covered with grouse muffs all the way to the toenails. Toenails to be white in Satinettes flesh to horn to black in Blondinettes depending on the variety.
PLUMAGE: Well developed, tight, lying flat with the exception of the Frill and Peak Crest.
FLIGHTS AND TAIL: Flights short, resting flat on the tail. Flights and tail to be shorter rather than longer. Tail to be no more than 2 feathers in width. Tail just clearing the floor when in show position.
STATION: Upright station at near to a 45-degree angle, which causes the tail to be held downward rather than horizontal.
COLOR: While no preference is given to any one color, all colors should be bright, smooth, and even. In laced birds the lacing should be clear and distinct. In barred birds the bars should be clear, narrow, long and even. The color inside the bars or laces should be white. The color inside the Moon Spots or tail laces should be white. The factors which give the Classic Frill its unique coloring are Toy Stencil and Frill Stencil, in combination. Toy Stencil affecting mainly the body and Frill Stencil affecting mainly the tail. Without these factors in proper combination, various shades of color will be produced, from normal coloration to bronzes/sulphurs and a root beer coloration, in their various hues. Toy Stencil and Frill Stencil cause the whitening effect that one sees in a well marked Classic Frill.
NOTE: This page provides some color information for both Satinettes and Blondinettes however see specific pages on colors within this Standard and Judging information section for more detailed information.
RECOGNIZED COLORS:
Summary information provided here; see specific pages on Satinette and Blondinette, Recognized Colors, Color Classes & Numbering, and Color Chart for more detailed information.
Some colors include ........
Blue Silver (Dilute Blue)
Brown Kahki (Dilute Brown)
Ash Red Ash Yellow (Dilute Ash Red)
Black (Spread Blue) Dune (Spread Silver)
Lavender (Spread Ash Red and Ash Yellow) Recessive Red
Recessive Yellow
There will also be a class for All Other Colors (AOC), for other factors successfully transferred over to the Classic Frills, such as milky, reduced, opal, etc. It should be noted that these factors must also have the telltale marks of Classic Frills and that is the Toy Stencil and Frill Stencil Factors, in combination, so that the same requirements stated in other parts of the standard are applicable to any new color factor added to the gene pool.
COLOR NAMES:
Summary information provided here; see specific pages on Satinette and Blondinette, Recognized Colors, Color Classes & Numbering, and Color Chart for more detailed information.
Some color names include ........
Bluette: Blue Bar Satinette
Silverette: Silver Bar Satinette
Brownette: Brown Bar Satinette
COLOR / PATTERN/ MARKINGS:
Satinettes are white except for a colored shield and colored tail (including about half of the rump and the wedge to the vent). Ash Red birds are to have clear and obvious tail color and markings (It should be noted that it is most difficult to achieve the same quality of tail marking in Ash Red/Ash Yellow birds as in other color varieties). The shield is laced or barred. Spread birds have a laced tail. Non-Spread birds have a barred tail with white Moon Spots. The shield bars are to be White. The inside of the laces on the shield are to be White. The inside of each Moon Spot is to be White. The inside of each laced tail feather is to be White. There should be a clear delineation between the lacing and ground color. The bars should be clear, long, even and narrow. The ideal is 10x10 white flights, always with colored thumb feathers. White thumb feather will be penalized. 7 to 10 white flights are allowed, with even numbered flights preferred over odd numbers of flights on opposing wings. There is to be an even line of demarcation across the rump between the colored tail and white back. This line falls about halfway between where the wings first separate and the actual beginning of the tail feathers. An even line, both top and bottom, is more important than the actual location of the line on the rump. The same description applies to the Blondinettes with the exception that the Blondinette is a whole colored bird and has no solid white feathers. In Spot tail version of Blondinette, usually just the tail and the wind show Toy and Frill Stencil. In Laced Tailed varieties, the lacing usually extends over most, if not all of the body - these are usually the spread factor birds.
ORDER OF EVALUATION:
General Impression (including Station). Body Form (including Size). Head and Beak. Crest. Neck and Frill. Markings. Color.
WEIGHTING OF ELEMENTS OF JUDGING:
General Impression (including Station) 20
Body Form (including Size) 15
Head and Beak 15
Crest 10
Neck and Frill 10
Markings 15
Color 15
Possible Groupings:
Judges may wish to consider grouping specimens, when there are enough birds to do so, in the following manner:
By age (young vs. old) - Young = is defined as a bird banded (e.g. 2024) the year it was born and banded/raised and shown that year.
By sex (hen vs. cock) - Old = is defined as birds banded/raised the last year or before (e.g. 2023, 2022, etc.).
Separate barred birds from laced birds
Separate lace tail birds from spot tail birds
Separate by color