The London Fancy deserves to be recognised for what it truly is: a breed defined by a unique genetic mutation, not "just a Lizard offshoot". This distinction is not a matter of opinion or pride. It is genetics, history, and the daily evidence of a breeding room. I breed London Fancy, I study it, and what follows is the science and the experience behind it.
Shared origin is not the same breed
Yes, historically the London Fancy most likely arose within Lizard populations in 18th-century London, among the same community of breeders in Spitalfields. Nobody denies that shared origin. But saying "the London Fancy is a Lizard" is like saying a dog is a wolf. They may share a common ancestor, yet they are fundamentally different, and in the case of the London Fancy the difference is genetic, not merely visual. A shared beginning does not make two breeds one.
The science: "Progressive Greying", not spangling
The London Fancy phenotype is caused by a specific heritable mutation called "Progressive Greying": a progressive loss of melanin-producing cells after the juvenile plumage. This is not the same genetic mechanism that produces spangling in the Lizard. They are two entirely different things. This has been documented by Hein van Grouw, Senior Curator of Birds at the Natural History Museum in Tring, one of the world's leading authorities on colour aberrations in birds. Understanding this single fact changes everything that follows.
The truth about Piet Renders
Since the name comes up so often, let it be set straight. Piet Renders did not recreate the London Fancy by crossing Lizards. The "Progressive Greying" mutation had in fact disappeared from within the Lizard breed. It resurfaced spontaneously in a stud of canaries, and Piet, brilliantly, recognised it and put it to use. The foundation bird in his programme was a colour canary, not a Lizard. That colour canary carried recessive genes for brown (cinnamon) and white, which is why we now have colour combinations (white, cinnamon, fawn) that never existed in the original London Fancy. Some Lizard blood did enter the line at one point, which is why modern London Fancies have dark legs, but the Lizard was not the source of the London Fancy phenotype.
What my breeding room proves
I do not only read about London Fancies; I breed them. I currently work with 40 London Fancy pairs per season, and have done so for several years. In all that time I have never had a single Lizard in my stud. Not one. And I have never produced a single bird that looks like a Lizard, resembles one, or even faintly reminds anyone of one. No spangling, no rowings. If the London Fancy were truly "just a Lizard offshoot", would you not expect Lizard-like throwbacks to appear across 40 pairs over many seasons? They do not appear, because these are two genetically distinct breeds.
Why crossing with the Lizard destroys the breed
This constant association with the Lizard leads people to believe that crossing London Fancy with Lizard is a valid strategy. It is not. I have seen the results of such crosses, and honestly they are ruinous. You lose everything that defines the London Fancy: melanin splashed across the body, messy wing patterns, no clean contrast. In a single pairing you can undo years of careful selection, and then need three, four, five generations just to return to where you started. That is not breeding. That is going backwards.
The pairings that actually work
With well-established London Fancy, Spangled and Melanic lines available today, we have every tool we need to move the breed forward without ever touching a Lizard. And the right strategies are not what most people assume:
- London Fancy × London Fancy is, contrary to expectation, not the best pairing. When both parents carry advanced "Progressive Greying", the offspring tend to come out lipochromic: clear yellow or white birds with little to no melanin left in wings and tail. You lose the very contrast that defines the breed. This is why understanding the genetics matters more than following assumptions.
- London Fancy × Melanic is the real gold standard. Melanics carry the "Progressive Greying" gene but still retain full melanin expression. They bring intense, high-quality melanin to the wings and tail of the offspring, exactly the dark-on-light contrast that defines a top London Fancy. This is the cross that consistently produces the best results.
- Spangled × Melanic is another excellent and highly productive pairing. It generates volume and genetic diversity while keeping everything within the London Fancy family. Many of tomorrow's best London Fancies will come from here.
- London Fancy × Spangled is useful when working towards cleaner birds while keeping reasonable melanin intensity in flight and tail feathers.
One genetic family, and the Lizard is not in it
Notice the pattern: every productive pairing stays within the London Fancy family. Melanics, Spangled and London Fancy are all expressions of the same "Progressive Greying" mutation at different stages of selection. They are the same genetic family. The Lizard is not part of it.
Melanics are the engine
This is why Melanics are so valuable and must never be underestimated or discarded. They are not "failed" London Fancies. They are the engine of any serious London Fancy stud. Without them you simply cannot produce top-quality London Fancies consistently. Anyone who dismisses Melanics has not understood how this breed works.
Forward, not backward
The London Fancy community has worked too hard and come too far to keep being pulled back by outdated myths. The old books of 150 to 200 years ago describe a shared origin, two breeds emerging from the same community of breeders. But shared origin does not mean they are the same breed, nor that one was "born from" the other in any way that matters to modern breeding. Let us focus on producing excellent London Fancies, with the right pairings, the right science and the right respect for the breed.
Sources for those who wish to learn rather than argue:
- Hein van Grouw, "The London Fancy: its plumage explained" (Cage & Aviary Birds, 2024)
- Hein van Grouw, "Progressive greying: beyond the London Fancy" (Cage & Aviary Birds, 2024)
- Huw Evans, finespangledsort.com (the most comprehensive resource on London Fancy history)
- Hein van Grouw, "What's in a name? Nomenclature for colour aberrations in birds reviewed" (Bulletin of the B.O.C., 2021)