Blue Cuckoo - AORC (Any Other Recognised Colour)
​                                                       since 1993
 # update - as of 2022 (decades after its development in the breed) this colour is still not recognised in the APS* for Orpingtons
  it is mentioned in the APS*

* Australian Poultry Standard

  # note that there are two colour variants in the Blue Cuckoo

     The most common is the Blue on White barring, some of these present with such a dark shade of Blue they can be  
     confused (by the untrained eye) with the double bar factor Regular Cuckoo 
     An example of this is the Blue Cuckoo cock-bird = Overall Cuckoo Champion 2011 as pictured / titled below
     The males with this Blue on White barring are white based and some exhibit with the barring not following the full length of
      the feather. This is accepted due to the colour, however at least 75% of the feather must display the barring pattern correctly
      for them to be effective breeders.
     
     The other  Blue Cuckoo displays  a rich Blue on Grey barring. This variant is rare in males, more commonly seen in the
      females.
     The males in this variant often display the barring only 90% of the length of the feather with the base being the rich Blue.
     Both variants have been shown with good success by a number of Exhibition Breeders