New Agapornis Mutations

Abstract

In this special issue of the Watchbird, it is with great pleasure that I have been asked to write about not only my favorite bird, but my favorite subject, mutations. The progress made in the last few years with mutations of the Agapornis is phenomenal and today the selection of color is wide enough to satisfy the taste of any aviculturist.

The Peach Face is number one with new colors, with over eight mutations and their many combinations. These are well established in this, the most domesticated of the Agapornis.

The first to be established was the Pied, genetically a variable dominant. Still today this is the only variable dominant mutation in Love Birds. Thanks should be given to Mrs.TM. Towne, long time member of the Avicultural Society of America, for establishing this beautiful mutation.

The next mutation was the West German Blue brought here to the United States about ten years ago. I was fortunate enough to obtain a pair the following year and have since crossed them with many other colors and have produced some beautiful new combinations. My favorite is still the Blue form of Pied, the first being raised here in our own aviaries. The Blue is a recessive mutation. Our strain has proven to be very healthy. Also through controlled breeding, we have been able to establish not only excellent fertility, but the tendency for hens to lay between six and eight eggs per clutch. Often there are too many young for the parents to feed, so normal Peach Face are then used as foster parents. In a few short years their numbers have grown and today they are readily available here.

In the Orient, a yellow mutation had been well established for some years. Here in the United States we had not only heard of it, but had seen beautiful color pictures of this bird. In the photographs, the yellow was pure, like that of a lutino, and striking in appearance. A good friend, David West (a true friend of the Agapornis as well) brought a pair of these birds into this country about eight years ago. Upon arrival David was disappointed, as the birds were dilute yellow (greenish in color) and not pure yellow as the pictures suggested. But they were still attractive and their popularity is evident. In the Orient these birds are called "Golden Imperial Cherry head", Cherryhead being the name used for Peach Face. This Yellow, as well as the Blue, are both recessive mutations. The Yellow crossed with the Blue will produce a dilute form of the Blue. This bird is very attractive and is sometimes called Silver Cherryhead, or White.

Some dark variations of the Yellow (Cherryhead) exists today in the United States. Tests are currently being made to determine if an additional mutation exists, which should be called "Grey Wing".

Here in San Diego, California, the most spectacular mutation occurred, the Lutino. David West called me and said Mrs. Schertzer had a hen with red eyes and was pure yellow in color. He made an appointment, and naturally I went along. Mrs. Schertzer had bred the hen and raised many young but was unable to produce another Lutino. While visiting, David purchased six of the green youngsters from the Lutino hen, with hopes that somehow the color could be reproduced. He also advised the owner to breed one of the sons back to the Lutino hen. The next breeding season,. David bred the six birds (brothers x sister) together and Lutinos appeared. Unfortunately, during these first few years, most Lutinos would die in the shell or within a few days of hatching. The one or two that survived to maturity were then crossed to the Blue in hopes of strengthening the young. The Blues being of strong stock would also eventually produce an Albino. There was. much discussion regarding the purity of the future Albino. Some said it would be White, but I disaggreed, pointing out that the Blue was not pure and in Pied form, the light areas were lemon yellow, not white. The first Albino appeared in Holland, and a month later, a second appeared here in our aviaries. The socalled Albino was pale lemon in color, not white.

In the last few years, news of another dilute yellow Peach Face reached California. These birds were in the pens of a commercial breeder in Texas. David West again made arrangements to have eight birds sent here. These birds were given to us here at Agapornis Acres on loan. One yellow died upon arrival, the remaining seven birds proved to be hens. Upon close inspection I realized important d~fferences between these bi~ds and t~e dilute yellow from the Onent. These birds were all the same shade of Pale Apple Green. The Oriental birds are greenish yellow with variance of color depth with each individual, some being more yellow, others being more greenish in color. The Texas birds had beige flights with a brownish quill; the Oriental birds' flights are greyish white. The rump color is also different in the Texas birds, being a deep blue instead of'a pale bluewhite.

Obviously we had a new color variety.

Since they were all hens, we used Blue males as this could eventually lead to a Blue form of the new color, which I chose to call "Cinnamon". After the 1976-77 breeding season, many young green babies had been produced. All would be split for Blue and hopefully also split for Cinnamon.

While catching up the adults for placement in resting pens, I discovered something new about the Cinnamons. It was a very bright sunny day and a Cinnamon's eye appeared brown in color instead of the usual black. Upon closer inspection I found all the Cinnamons to have warm brown colored eyes. This led me to believe that when first hatched, as with many other Cinnamon mutations, these birds would have a plum colored eye that would turn darker with age. This current breeding season I selected three males split for Blue and Cinnamon and matched them to Blue hens. All the remaining green youngsters were placed with the original seven hens to be bred in a colony. Breeding the split males to Blue hens was a test to see if this mutation is sex-linked, as many other Cinnamons are. We have now produced Cinnamons from such a pair, thus proving the Cinnamon to be of sex-linked inheritance. Also the young hatch with reddish or plum colored eyes, the down at first is a brighter orange than the normal baby and as it matures, turns beige in color instead of the dark grey of the normal.

I would like to add that two other members of the African Love Bird Society in Texas are also working with this new color. This season the first Blue form of Cinnamon has been produced in Texas and here in our aviaries.

 

 

 

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