[Mutations] Cockatiel Color Mutations: Descriptions

[Dan]

I wrote this a while ago and I thought that it might help a bit. *Please note the original date of the thread. It is from 2002, I don't think the pictures will be replaced or fixed. You can images of each mutation search on google.com*

Thanks

There are many different cockatiel color mutations. They are generally caused by changes in the melanin and the carotenoid, but hardly ever in the structure color.

Normal Gray: The color of cockatiels in the wild. It's the natural color of cockatiels. Males and females have a basic grey body and a white strip (of varing width) along the edge of the closed wing. Males tend to have plain grey tail feathers, a bright yellow head, and bright orange cheek patches. Females have duller heads with only a little yellow (brighter around the eye, by the beak, and above the nostrils) and dull orange cheek patches they also tend to have a patterned tail. (note ALL young tiels will look like females until their first moult at 6-8 months old, this applies to ALL mutations!)


Lutino:: Their bodies are entirely white or yellow (usualy a pale yellow, but any shade). because their bodies are yellow, so are their heads, even the females. Both sexes also have a bright orange cheek patch, so sexing like normal greys, is impossible. some lutinos have a bald patch on their head, this is simply a result of inbreeding earlier on, it has no bearing on the sex or health of the tiel.



Cinnamon:: same as normal grey, except the grey is replaced with a cinnamon colour: pale 'dusty' brown. the females tend to have a brighter face than normal grey females, but still duller than males. sexed the same as normal greys.

Fallow:: very similar to cinnamon (brownish colour) but usually paler. They have red eyes, and often paler beaks and feet. sexed the same as cinnamons

Albino:: They are also a double mutation of Lutino and Whiteface. They have no pigmentation. It has red eyes and no cheek patches. It has pink feet. They are all white.

Recessive Silver: They are like Normal Gray cockatiels, but they are lighter. They have red eyes.

Dominant Silver:: They are like Normal Gray cockatiels. They have dark eyes, and they are much more lighter in color. single factor is darker, double factor being very pale.

Pied: patches of any main colour (grey, cinnamon, silver etc) and white/yellow (can be mainly colour, with white patches, or mainly white with coloured patches). can be combined with any colour varity. Because they often have a patch over the head, they can not be sexed like normal greys: both males and females are just as likely to have a bright or dull head.



Pearl:: Normal base colour (grey, lutino, cinnamon, etc) but the edges of the feathers (on the whole body) are tipped with yellow, making the tiel look like it is covered with dots! most predominant over the back and wings. the female's head is usually brighter than in normal greys. The male looses much of its pearling by the 2nd molt, making him look very much like a normal grey/cinnamon/etc. only the female retains the pearlings.

Whiteface:: just like it sounds: white instead of yellow on the head. the cheek patch is also white. sexed the same as normal greys, where the male has the entire white head, but females have a dull grey head. Their body feathers are charcoal colored (usually darker grey than normal grey). can be combined with any colour (eg, whiteface cinnamon)

Yellowface:: They the same as a normal grey, but their cheek patches are yellow rather than orange, making them look like they have an entire yellow head (the cheek patch is often slightly darker though, so still visible.) sexed the same as normal grey. can be combined with any colour (eg, lutino yellow face)

Pastel:: They're just like a normal grey, but their yellow head and orange cheek patches are a more pale 'pastel' shade. hence the name. sexed the same as normal grey. can be combined with any colour (eg, cinnamon pastel)


There are also double mutations (eg: cinnamon, pearl), triple mutations (eg, cinnamon, pearl, pied), and many more! So remember, you cockatiel may be a lutino-pearl, whiteface-cinnamon-pearl, or even a yellowface-cinnamon-pearl-pied cockatiel!