The Standards of the Bolk
General description and color:
Ablak are white birds with colorful shields and cheeks markings. The color of the bird
always refers to the color of its shields. The color of the coverts on the shield could be
either solid or laced. Their names are derived from Egyptian connotations that mach their
colors. There are several sub-groups among the Ablak. Color markings, beak setting and
skeletal structure distinguish each.
1. Group one
The following sub-groups are found in the first group and share many common features. They
differ mainly in color and to a certain degree the body size.
A-Black: Beetle black sheen on the shields and cheeks.
B- Kesher bondok( walnut) : laced shields. A walnut shell
color covers the lacing of the shields. This group has three-color densities. The darkest
is laced indigo.
C- Faru: Laced shields. The lacing color looks like that of
the inside color of a peeled hazelnut.
D- Wardy (rose): is a faded red with lacing and its
version the Red (recessive red).
E- Istan-bully: a recessive yellow.
F- Zahr: Blue lacing with two dark peach bars.
The last three sub-groups have entirely different beak settings and or colors from the
above groups and from each other.
2. Group Two
Akhdar: recessive blue to opal color with two wide black
bars across the wing. A third peach or white bar is frequently noted in between the black
bars.
3. Group Three
Sakarota: recessive apricot color.
4. Group Four
Banafsigy: intense violet to black beetle sheen with a
white or peach bar.
Sakarota, Blue and Banafsigy have different beak settings from other Bolks.
The Eye Color:
The small round body in the middle of the eye is called the pupil. Surrounding the pupil
is the Iris and that what gives the eye its color. The Iris is divided into two linings, a
thin lining surrounding the pupil and an outer one that is adjacent to the Cere (eyelid).
So much of the eye sign in the Egyptian Swifts will relate to that.
The Iris color of the eye is a reflection of the shield color. All Bolks have gravel eyes
(hazel) with gravel granules of various densities floating in the background.
The fairest Bolk is the Sakarota. It is expected to have a yellow Iris. The walnut Bolk
has a medium gravel Iris. The density of the Iris is respectable to the color of the
shield. The Blue Bolk has an intense green color dispersed in a light hazel background.
A lining of an olive color encircles the periphery of the pupil in the Walnut, Black, Faru
and Wardy. The lining is green in the Blue and Zahr Bolks.
Beak Settings:
Each group is distinguished by a unique beak setting.
Black, Walnut, Red, Rose, Isant-bully and Zahr: They all have a similar beak
settings and head structure. The beak should be slightly downward. Males have blunt and
strong mandibles as compared to females. A heavy cushion of feathers at the beak-frontal
junction is responsible for a bulging in that area. The beak color is white in all light
birds and slightly darker in the Walnut and Black.
In general one could say that this group share all features except for the color.
Blue: The beak is slightly longer and narrower than other Bolks.
Sakarota: A small conical beak fitting on a delicate head. The beak and the head
blend together very smoothly leaving no gaps in between. As a result the head and beak
appear to look like a small triangular shape.
Banafsigy: The beak is depicted as a shape of a wheat grain, in that the two edges
of the upper mandible are typically depressed than the middle portion. The lower mandible
is rather straight and fits tightly to the upper one. The beak has a triangular shape as
it is looked upon from the top. The frontal is broad and round and is accentuated by the
pinch at the upper mandible. The frontal formation gives the head its characteristic shape
among all Bolks.
The Skeletal Structure:
Banafsigy has small skeleton and frail structure (average 9 ounces). Despite their
appearance, they are light birds. They are feathery long and slender birds (av.30 cm.).
Black, Walnut and Sakarota are slightly bigger birds than the Banafsigy (average10 ounces)
and considered to be birds with fine structure and many feathers.
