The Many Faces of the Parrotlet - A Beginner's Guide to Parrotlet Mutations
Green (Wild Type)
Green is the wild-type form of the Parrotlet. Males and Females are both a vibrant emerald green with blue spectacles (the line you see behind the eye). Males have a richly colored cobalt rump and cobalt colored primary and secondary flight feathers and under-coverts. Females have some hint of blue on their rump but lack the blue color throughout the wing.
Blue
Blue is a recessive mutation resulting in a bird being unable to produce carotene pigments found in the feather. What's leftover is structural blue color, resulting in a bird that is visually blue in color. (Blue + Yellow = Green)
Being recessive means that to produce blue birds, both parent birds must carry the recessive blue gene.
Being recessive means that to produce blue birds, both parent birds must carry the recessive blue gene.
Turquoise
Turquoise birds visually look like an intermediate color between green and blue. You will always know if you have a Turquoise vs Blue if your bird has a greenish blue mask (blue birds will have blue masks with no green).
Recently, a breeder showed that his Turquoise pair produced a Blue baby. This makes sense, because I have a pair (American Turquoise and American Yellow) produce an American White baby - so both birds must carry blue recessively.
Previously I've read that Turquoise is recessive, but this breeder's results and my results show that this can't be true. At least, it is not recessive to blue. I've also read that Turquoise is Incomplete Dominant to Green. It definitely is not incomplete dominant. The only explanation for this definition is people who do not understand genetics. Incomplete Dominant would mean that pairing a Green bird to a Blue Bird would always produce Turquoise Birds. (The classic example of Incomplete Dominance is Pink flowers produced by cross pollinating red flowers with white flowers).
Until I've done further test breeding myself, I don't feel confident explaining its pattern of inheritance, but what makes the most sense to me is that Turquoise is a modifier to the blue mutation. I've detailed my hypothesis here.
Recently, a breeder showed that his Turquoise pair produced a Blue baby. This makes sense, because I have a pair (American Turquoise and American Yellow) produce an American White baby - so both birds must carry blue recessively.
Previously I've read that Turquoise is recessive, but this breeder's results and my results show that this can't be true. At least, it is not recessive to blue. I've also read that Turquoise is Incomplete Dominant to Green. It definitely is not incomplete dominant. The only explanation for this definition is people who do not understand genetics. Incomplete Dominant would mean that pairing a Green bird to a Blue Bird would always produce Turquoise Birds. (The classic example of Incomplete Dominance is Pink flowers produced by cross pollinating red flowers with white flowers).
Until I've done further test breeding myself, I don't feel confident explaining its pattern of inheritance, but what makes the most sense to me is that Turquoise is a modifier to the blue mutation. I've detailed my hypothesis here.
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The American Mutation
American Yellow, American White & American Turquoise
The American mutation is a recessive gene affecting the wild-type bird where structural blue color is interrupted, leaving a bird that is visually yellow in color if the base color is green. It's interesting to note that the structural blue pigment is only affected in the body color feathers and NOT the sexually-dimorphic areas of the bird, suggesting the pathway isn't completely incapacitated but that in some metabolic pathways it has at least been disrupted.
Truly - the gene itself is referred to as "American" because it was discovered in America. So you will often see Yellow Parrotlets advertised as "American Yellows." But, if you ask me, this is a bit silly. It describes nothing about how the gene behaves and purely identifies its location of discovery. Plus - American Yellow and American White describe a phenotype, and if you're going to be proper, it should be American Green (the American gene present on a green-bodied bird) and American Blue (the American gene present on a blue-bodied bird) - we see this already with American Turquoise (the American gene present on a turquoise-bodied bird). Consistency would make sense, but that's not what the bird world is all about. I digress.
Truly - the gene itself is referred to as "American" because it was discovered in America. So you will often see Yellow Parrotlets advertised as "American Yellows." But, if you ask me, this is a bit silly. It describes nothing about how the gene behaves and purely identifies its location of discovery. Plus - American Yellow and American White describe a phenotype, and if you're going to be proper, it should be American Green (the American gene present on a green-bodied bird) and American Blue (the American gene present on a blue-bodied bird) - we see this already with American Turquoise (the American gene present on a turquoise-bodied bird). Consistency would make sense, but that's not what the bird world is all about. I digress.
American Yellow
A green bird that possesses two copies of the American gene. The result is a bird that appears yellow in color. Some look almost neon.
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American White
A blue bird that inherits both recessive copies of the American gene will be called an "American White" bird and will appear powdery blue in color (left). If paired to a normal green bird that carries no other mutations, the babies produced would be Green split for Blue and "American."
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The image below depicts the follicle difference between a Blue (left) and an American White baby (right). Notice darker follicles and edging on the blue baby in comparison. It's notable however, that heavily pied blue babies will appear very similar to American White as far as follicle color and impression prior to pinning out.
American Turquoise
A Turquoise bird that also possesses the both copies of the recessive American genes.
American Turquoise almost look like a Diluted Yellow bird, which can be a bit confusing!
American Turquoise almost look like a Diluted Yellow bird, which can be a bit confusing!
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The pictures below illustrate the difference between an American White and an American Turquoise. They're both beautiful, however!
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Pied
Pied is a dominant trait that can be a little tricky to grasp because there is no 'recessive' counterpart. For instance - Green is the dominant form, and introducing two copies of the recessive American gene produces a visually Yellow bird. Whereas many of the parrotlet mutations are recessive genes that require a bird to possess both copies for them to phenotypically (visually) express the color, the Pied gene is a single acting gene on the body feathers of the bird. Meaning a single copy present will produce pied feathers - the degree to which is highly variable and not all that predictable.
In a green bird, pied feathers will be yellow. In a blue bird, the pied feathers will be white (since the bird cannot produce lutein, the pigment responsible for yellow color). In a turquoise bird, since it's an intermediate color, the bird can have both yellow AND white feathers.
This also means that a pied bird can produce babies that are pied, and babies that are not pied. I have yet to speak to anyone who has told me that they've had pied pairs ever only produce pied babies, which leads me to believe there isn't the possibility of a bird being "Double Factor" for Pied and always producing pied offspring. In other words, the Pied gene in parrotlets is not a single-gene trait with a dominant/recessive inheritance pattern.
In a green bird, pied feathers will be yellow. In a blue bird, the pied feathers will be white (since the bird cannot produce lutein, the pigment responsible for yellow color). In a turquoise bird, since it's an intermediate color, the bird can have both yellow AND white feathers.
This also means that a pied bird can produce babies that are pied, and babies that are not pied. I have yet to speak to anyone who has told me that they've had pied pairs ever only produce pied babies, which leads me to believe there isn't the possibility of a bird being "Double Factor" for Pied and always producing pied offspring. In other words, the Pied gene in parrotlets is not a single-gene trait with a dominant/recessive inheritance pattern.
Pied Birds Gallery
Marble
Marble is an autosomal recessive gene that was previously referred to as "Pastel." Marble birds have gray edging on the covert feathers and this gray edging can vary from light to beautifully designed. The degree to which a bird is marbled often affects its price - with well marbled birds ranging anywhere from $300-$600. The marble gene has an interesting effect on the body color of the birds as well, and is quite possibly one of my favorite mutations.
Fallow
Fallow is an autosomal recessive gene that results in a red-eyed bird. The Fallow gene is not to be confused with the Ino gene, as both produce red-eyed birds, but the Fallow gene does not have the same melanin impact on the body feathers as Ino. Visually Fallow birds should never be paired together. Always pair Fallow to non-red eyed birds, and never pair birds that carry Fallow with birds that carry Ino.
Ino
Ino is a autosomal recessive red-eye gene that results in either Albino, Lutino or Creamino birds. While Fallow birds also have red eyes, the Fallow gene does not affect the color pathways of the birds in the same way. The Ino gene behaves the way most people are accustomed as far as red-eye genes are concerned, where the melanin production of the bird is completely incapacitated. Ino birds should never be paired together. Always pair Ino to non-red eyed birds, and never pair birds that carry Ino with birds that carry Fallow.
Lutino
A green bodied (or American Yellow bodied) bird that inherits two copies of Ino gene results in what is called "Lutino" - a yellow bird with red eyes. Male lutinos will typically have white primary feathers, where females will be a very rich vibrant yellow all over.
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The picture below is an excellent representation of the difference you'll see in Lutino babies compared to American Yellow babies. The American Yellow babies look almost greenish yellow in comparison!
Albino
Albino birds are the result of a blue bodied bird inheriting two copies of the recessive Ino gene. Some individuals claim that you can sex these birds by shining a blacklight across the feathers to indicate the "primary" feathers of the male, but this is not a very reliable method. For the most part, these birds need DNA sexing to legitimately confirm one way or another.
Creamino
Creamino birds are the result of a turquoise bodied bird inheriting two copies of the recessive Ino gene. You can generally identify Creamino males the same way you would Lutino, where the primary flight feathers are a discernible white color. These are some of the more complicated birds to produce, and often carry a higher price tag as a result.