Flying Class Standard

of the

United Oriental Roller Association

Color:
a) Solids, black, dun, white, red, yellow, blue, almond, Ash, and factors affecting these colors, i.e., grizzle, bar, check, T-pattern, spread, dilution.
b) A.O.C., bronze, kite, buff or fawn, brown, mottle.  All of the A.O.C. colors are usually marked with a bar on the wing and tail.  The Oriental Roller does not come in marked colors such as baldhead or beard.

Flying classes will be divided into sex classes for judging.  All specimens must still meet above mentioned color requirements.  Flying classes will be young hen, young cock, old hen, old cock. If entry is deemed large enough by show committee, yearling hen and yearling cock classes may be added.

Eye:
Pearl - yellow or lemon - bull.  The old style Oriental usually had the lemon eye, but today the Oriental has the bull or pearl colored eye.  The pearl eye is preferred.  the eye cere is fine and white in color.  A coarse or red cere is to be avoided.

Head:
The head should not be round or have a flat top. It should have an oval sweep from the wattle to the back of the head, curving continuously back and down into the neck. The eye is centrally located in the head and the beak line should pass through the pupil of the eye. The frontal should not be angular or too abrupt.  When looking at the head there should be a snaky, smooth, clean-cut look. The head feathers are not coarse but fit tight and smoothly to the head.

Beak:
The beak is thicker than a Birmingham Roller and a little longer.  It should never be spindly.  Most beaks are flesh color and may have a black spot on the upper mandible.

Neck:
The neck should be in proportion to the body size.  It should be full, giving the neck a thick appearance.  The neck feathers should have a high luster.

Legs:
The legs should be short rather than long.  This gives the bird a squat appearance.  The legs should be placed centrally giving the bird good balance and an appearance of readiness for instant flight.

Wings:
The wings should blend flatly into the body with no protruding wing butts.  The wings sweep below the tail and are carried that way all through life.  It is desirable to have the wings held off the ground, but they should be closer to the ground than to the tail. The wing flights should extend to the end of the tail feathers when held in the hand. The feathers should have a shiny, hard look rather than a soft, loose appearance.

Back:
The back should be broad and blend into the width of the tail. The back is short and the tail is held up and away from the wings and the ground.  Viewing the bird from the side, there should be a hollow sweep from the head down and the concave continuing out to the tip of the tail.  This gives the bird a swing or hollow back appearance.

Tail:
The tail is one of the main features of this bird being very different from most other birds.  There are from 14-22 quite long tail feathers.  The split tail feather is a characteristic of this bird and this should not be a disqualification of the bird.  A main characteristic is the absence of an oil gland.  If one is present it is a disqualifying feature.  The feathers in the tail should be arched and stepped in the center and then down the other side.  An equal number of feathers should be on each side of the center of the tail.

Body:
The body of the bird should be larger than the Birmingham Roller but not too large.  They have a masculine breast which tapers down the body to form a wedge, medium to shallow bodied.  The keel should not be deep and protruding but short, flat and curving sharply into the vent. The body is more horizontally held rather than upright giving a sleek look.  A bird that has poise (looks long) has a shallowness from the neck to the tip of the tail. This is a most desired feature. Cobbiness is a definite fault.

Feathers:
The feathers are not compact and tight as in other rollers, but are loose and give the bird a larger look.  The body coverts are shiny as in the Archangel but not quite as lustrous.  The flights and tail feathers are springy and not soft and lifeless.  The feathers in general are hard and shiny but should appear loosely packed.

Impressions:
The Oriental Roller is one bird that should give the impression of its ancestors.  It should have a reptilian look. When viewing the head from the front, the eyes should be set so as to give the impression of looking at a snake.  The long, easy flowing lines should suggest a flowing movement of the reptile.

Flying Characteristics:
This bird has its own flying characteristics.  Orientals fly high and the kit is not compact.  Various performances acceptable are rolling, diving, and twisting with rolling being the preferred.  It takes the young bird longer to be trained and if not well trained they tend to lose their performance.  A well trained kit of Oriental Rollers is a pleasure to watch.  They are active flyers and performers.

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Point Distribution

General Impression                   25
Head                                 10
Body                                 10
Back                                  5
Wings                                 5
Tail                                 15
Legs                                  5
Feathers                              5
Condition                            20
                          Total     100
Points are not to be totaled per individual bird.
Points are only to show importance in ranking features for judging.

Certification for Show Hall

Birds being certified must be judged by two different UORA approved flying judges. The birds to be certified must be judged twice with no less than two months between judgings.  The birds must perform a minimum of five times in a twenty minute period with at least one of the performances being a proper roll.  At such times, the birds being certified meet the eligibility requirements to be entered in the show hall as "Flying Oriental Rollers".

Compiled and arranged by Dale Husband, assisted by W. P. Bradford.
Modified September 1998

Changes and additions to the original appear in this typeface.

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