Cockatiel Mutation Project
The color in Cockatiels is derived from two pigments:
- Melanin - Provides the Grey color in Normals. It is also present in the eyes, beak, and feet.
You will notice some cockatiels have darker beaks and feet than others. The Lutino mutation occurs because of a complete
lack of melanin. This is why the eyes appear red, from the blood vessels showing, and the feet and beak to be lighter.
Melanin is the stronger color and overrides Lipochromes when both are present.
- Lipochromes - These provide the yellow on the face and tail and orange seen in the cheek patch.
As males mature the melanin pigments in the face become weaker allowing the Lipochromes to be visable while in the tail the
melanin increases in the tail make the tail more of a solid color. The Whiteface Cockatiel lacks Lipochromes, hence
the white face with no yellow or orange present which are replaced by white.
Sex linked mutations are carried on the X chromosomes. Cocks have 2 X chromosomes and while Hens have an X
and a Y chromosome. Sex-Linked mutations must be carried on both X for cocks, and the single X on Hens, for a mutation
to be visible. Hens cannot be split to Sex-Linked mutations because if the mutation is on their X chromosome then it
is visible. So, what you see is what you get with Sex-Linked mutations on hens. A male is split when only one X chromosome
carries the Sex-Linked mutation.
Lutino
The Lutino is a white bird with an orange cheek patch, some yellow pigment, pink feet and red eyes. Some individuals
vary with a light to heavy yellow wash over part or most of the body. Sometimes baldness occurs behind the crest. This
occured during the development of this mutation. Your ideal Lutino has no bald
spot. It is very hard to distinguish mature
cocks from hens. A common combination is the Lutino Pearl Hen where you find Yellow Pearling over the wings and back.
Cinnamon
The Cinnamon gets it name from it's Cinnamon color which is has been described as a brownish grey or cocoa
color. You should not see any Grey and can notice a yellowish tinge to the feathers. The Grey color in a Normal is produced
by the melanin pigment which is reduced in the Cinnamon. Some hens may have more yellow, lipochrome pigment, on the face than
their Normal Grey counterparts.
The male Cinnamon Cockatiel develops a bright yellow face (also know as the mask) and
bright orange cheek patches after it's first molt. Young and female Cinnamon cockatiels retain their dull orange cheek patches,
their faces do not turn yellow, and they have white or yellow barring on the underside of their tails.
Pearl
The Pearling are lacings or pearl spots of Yellow or White on the backs, nape, and wings. Yellow Pearls are
sometimes called Golden Pearls. White pearling is sometimes called Silver Pearl. Pearling in a Whiteface is always white.
The lacings should be extensive and consistent. Small yellow or white marks may be on the breast of heavier marked pearls.
Typically adult pearl males lose their Pearling after the first molt due to hormonal changes as they mature. There are
some who retain some degree of pearling though. A mature male sometimes has very light colored pearling on the grey or cinnamon
background.
Yellow Cheek
Yellow Cheek is one of the newer mutations and is unique in that there are Sex-Linked and Dominant versions
of this mutation. Where a Normal Grey has an Orange cheek patch, the cheek patch of the Yellow Cheek is Yellow. The
cheek patch of the Dominant Yellow Cheek seems to be a little more orange than the Sex-Linked version. When breeding
Yellow Cheeks it is important to never breed Dominant with Sex-Linked. It would take years of test breeding to determine what
the offspring really are. It is also not recommended to breed Yellow Cheeks with Whiteface.
Platinum
The Platinum is seen in Australia. In general it is a light, smoky grey back, flights and tail, with flights
sometimes almost a grey - brown color with an off white colored chest. Flights and tails are typically always a darker
color to other feathers. The underside of tail feathers in mature cocks is usually a brown or chocolate color with light colored
feet and beak.
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To obtain a Recessive mutation baby both parents must have the mutation either visually or split. Hens
can be split to a Recessive mutation. Hens cannot be split to a sex-linked mutation. For example to produce Whiteface
offspring each parent must at a minimum be split to Whiteface. If one parent contains no Whiteface genes roughly have
the offspring will be split to Whiteface but none will visually show it.
Pied
Pieds are basically when the standard body colors are replaced with Yellow or White in varying degrees. When
Pieds are judged the degree of symmetry and clarity of markings is important. Ideally, a desirable pied will carry
a clear mask, free from extraneous grey or cinnamon feathers or bleeding from the orange cheek patch, clear tail and wing
flights and a perfect balance of markings. A pied with dark feathers in the face is called a dirty faced pied.
Pieds are also known to have thicker feathering over the body also. Pied occurs because the levels of melanin are different
over the feathers of the bird. It has also been noted that Pieds have a thicker set of feathers which is noticeable in young
birds as they feather up.
Pieds appear in three ways:
The Light Pied is where most of the bird will be Grey or Cinnamon but some areas of the body are yellow,
or white for Whiteface Pieds.
The Heavy Pied is mostly a Yellow or White bird with Grey or Cinnamon still seen on some of the chest
and back. The nicest are when the chest and face are clear of the darker colors. Some people also call cockatiels with
very little Grey or Cinnamon a Reverse Pied.
The Clear Pied looks much like the Lutino but has dark or normally colored eyes and feet. You
may see one or two dark feathers on the back. These can be easily confused with Lutinos and are not as common.
They have the advantage of not having the bald spot that has occurs with Lutinos.
Whiteface
Charcoal grey in color, lacking the orange cheek patch and yellow pigment. The whiteface is lacks all
lipochrome pigments. Mature adult males will carry a white face as opposed to the yellow mask worn by other varieties.
Some of the nicest combinations are the Whiteface Pearl, Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl, Whiteface Pieds and Whiteface Cinnamon
Pieds.
Fallow
A brownish (or light cinnamon) appearance resembling the cinnamon, but with a more pronounced yellow suffusion
and red eyes due to less melanin. The Fallow cockatiel has a very similar coloration to that of the Cinnamon cockatiel, but
with a slightly diluted depth of color. The fallow has red eyes, a pink beak, and pink feet.
Pastel
Pastel is a rather subtle mutation that is rather appropriately named. The pastel mutation can be combined
with just about any other mutation with some beautiful results. Pastel cockatiels look just like their normal counterpart,
but the yellows, oranges, browns and grays are softened a bit. Hence the name, pastel. The most obvious difference is
the orange cheek patch becomes a yellow-orange.
Emerald
It is also called Olive, Spangled or Suffused Yellow. This mutation is hard to describe and has to be
seen. The term Emerald or Olive is a bit misleading though. Cockatiels do not carry any green pigmentation, so
they can't really be green. The combinations of yellow and greys along with the right lighting make these birds sometimes
look green. It can best be described as a mottled or combination of small areas with different colors varying from yellows
to greys.
Recessive Silver
The Recessive Silver mutation is a diluted or silvery grey version of the normal grey. The Silver has red
eyes, a pink beak, and pink feet. Male Silver cockatiels often have a very deep yellow face and bright orange Cheek Patches
at maturity. Female Silver cockatiels will retain their immature coloration and the barring of the underside of the
tail.
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Dominant mutations are unique in that it requires only one of the parents to produce the mutation in their
offspring. For example if you have a Dominant Yellow Cheek hen you will get a percentage of either male and/or female
Dominant Yellow Cheek babies. For Sex-linked Yellow Cheek you must have Sex-Linked Yellow Cheek in both the male and
female to get male Sex-Linked Yellow Cheek babies. A bird cannot be split to a dominant mutation. You either see
it or you don't. A single factor dominant bird has one X chromosome containing the mutation. A double factor dominant
has two X chromosomes, hence only males can be double factor.
Dominant Silver
Dominant Silver is a mutation that is dominant to other mutations to produce a silver or light grey. The most
obvious difference between the Dominant and the Recessive is the the Dominant has dark eyes verses the red eyes of the recessive.
The birds can carry the dominant gene on one or both chromosomes, with the coloring effect being more pronounced in double-factored
birds. When the dominant silver gene is carried on one chromosome, it is single-factored and the single factored is darker.
When Dominant Silver gene carried on both chromosomes, it is double-factored and is a lighter grey.
Dominant Yellow Cheek
The Dominant Yellow Cheek is very similar to the Sex-Linked Yellow Cheek. Personal observations of the
ones I have seen is that the Dominant Yellow Cheeks has a slight orange tinge, possibly due to a double factor, to it but
lighter than the yellow-orange of a Pastel's cheek patch. Single factor cheek patches are yellow.
Normal Grey
The Normal Grey is the what all other mutations are derived from and is the Normal Grey Cockatiel seen in
the wilds of Australia. The male Normal Grey has dark grey feathers over his entire body, excluding the white wing bars,
yellow face, and bright orange cheek patches. Young Normal Grey Cockatiels of both sexes look a lot like female Normal
Greys. The face is Grey with dull orange cheek patches along with tail feathers that have a white or yellow barring on the
underside. If you see a few white or yellow feathers on the back of your normal grey cockatiel's neck and head, sometimes
called ticking, that it means that your cockatiel is split to the recessive mutation Pied.
