The white-faced cockatiel is one of the

cockatiel The cockatiel (; ''Nymphicus hollandicus''), also known as weiro (also spelt weero), or quarrion, is a medium-sized parrot that is a member of its own branch of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia. They are prized as household pets and comp ...

colour genetic mutations, with a mostly white or grayish face. They stand out because they have no orange cheek patches or yellow coloring at all. This is the seventh established mutation which appeared for the first time with domesticated

cockatiels The cockatiel (; ''Nymphicus hollandicus''), also known as weiro (also spelt weero), or quarrion, is a medium-sized parrot that is a member of its own branch of the cockatoo family endemism in birds, endemic to Australia (continent), Australia. ...

in 1964 in Holland.

Size and weight

These cockatiels can grow up to 12 inches (30 cm) and weigh 3 to 4 ounces.

Sexual differences

For white-faced cockatiels, the males will have a whiter head and the females will have more of a grayish head. The females will also have the barred markings underneath their tail feathers while the males will have none.

White-faced cockatiel in different colour mutations

*White-faced grey cockatiel: *White-faced pearl cockatiel: *White-faced

pied cockatiel The Pied cockatiel is the first mutation of cockatiel colour genetics, with a mostly grey to light-yellow and white feathers and orange cheek patches. Pied cockatiels have large, random blotches of colour on their bodies, after the " normal grey" ...

: *White-faced pearl pied cockatiel: *White-faced cinnamon cockatiel: *White-faced cinnamon pearl cockatiel: *White-faced cinnamon pied cockatiel:

The relation with "albino" cockatiel

The "albino cockatiel" is not a true albino, it is a combination of a "white-faced cockatiel" and a "

Lutino cockatiel The lutino cockatiel is one of the most popular mutations of cockatiel, with white to light-yellow feathers and orange cheek patches. The " normal grey" or "wild type" of a cockatiel's plumage is primarily grey with prominent white flashes on the ...

". The "Whiteface gene" removes all the yellow and orange that would be present in a Lutino. and the "Lutino gene" removes all the black and grey. The result is an all white cockatiel with red eyes. In some cases a whiteface lutino can be nest sexed via the parents mutations, in instances where the parents mutations are unknown they are impossible to sex visually, so you will need a DNA test to determine what sex your pet it is.

Sound

All cockatiel colour genetic mutations have the same tweet. File:Nymphicus hollandicus call.ogg

References

External links

Cockatiels - National Cockatiel SocietyCockatiel Information Forum and Bulletin Board
- Talk Cockatiels
Videos, images and sounds
- Internet Bird Collection {{Cockatoos Domesticated birds Talking birds Cockatiel colour mutations Cockatiel