Sub Species

Recently I posted about a young male Eclectus that I saw at a pet store with a red band on his tail instead of the yellow band that the males have. I found this to be very interesting as I do with genetics in general when it comes to breeding.

This got me to thinking about how many are not aware of the various subspecies and their differences. It also got me to thinking about the array of variations I have seen in pictures of Eclectus. So I thought I would post about subspecies and Eclectus with unique feathering.

Here are some fantastic pages that show the different Subspecies of Eclectus:

Avian Web - Eclectus Subspecies Identification
Shades of Eclectus - Subspecies ID
Eclectusville
Tail Feather Identification

Here is a fantastic picture taken from the web that shows the size difference between two different subspecies. The pages listed above have much more documentation including pictures, charts, tail differences, color differences and where each subspecies is found. My information is only very general provided for educational and directional purpose.

The image below shows a Soloman Island Eclectus on the left and a Red Sided Eclectus on the right. Note the slight color difference as well.

In the past I have also mentioned Viggo was born with a white toe nail. This could possibly indicate a pied genetic. As he is not a breeder it is unlikely that I will ever find out if there is truth to that. It has always made me curious about the color variations before and how they come to be. Here are a few that have made me want to add more....

 

The Blue mutation is stunning! Below is a pied Eclectus.

                                                          Another pied male eclectus.

Blue Mutation Female

 

Some interesting red coloration happening on the boys in this picture.

 

A pale almost orange colored females.

There are so many unique mutations and I am not surprised. I used to breed lovebirds and it was amazing what color variations one can get when breeding. I specialised in Opaline Lovebirds that we imported from the US. When you consider the Eclectus however with the females being red, males green that's another story all together, there isn't a huge array of colors unlike lovebirds.

Macaw mutations like the Catalina, Camelot and Shamrock come from breeding one species to another, such as a Blue & Gold to a Scarlet Macaw, or a Green Wing to a Military macaw. From there you get very interesting and colorful off spring. The mutations just continue from there.

The question with Eclectus however is HOW does one get these other unique feather colors? Is it diet? Genetics?

I found this explanation on the web:

Blue is a recessive mutation. In the case of the eclectus it has occurred naturally & even if a son was bred with the mother & daughter to the father or brother & sister are bred so the color can be passed on in that family it is also easy to out cross into normal unrelated birds. Out come of matings. So i very much doubt that there is to much inbreeding with this color.

Blue x Normal = 100% Normal/Blue
Normal/Blue X Blue = 50% Normal/Blue
+ 50% Blue
Normal/Blue X Normal/Blue = 25% Normal
+ 50%Normal/Blue
+ 25% Blue
Blue X Blue = 100% Blue

I don't know how true it is but i did read that the blue eclectus was the result of brother & sister accidentally breeding together. Because only 2 chicks are the usual clutch it's taking some time to be readly available. I would also say that the breeders that are lucky to have this mutation in their breeding program would certainly be breeding good stock. The USA & Europe have the blue eclectus well under development. As far as i know there are also a few pairs in Australia.

In the case of the pied Eclectus I understand this is just genetic. As for the dappling of color or orange hues I have read that diet plays a big part. Perhaps a genetic flaw? Some interesting feathers molt out within the first year. This seems to be the norm for a lot of the unique colors, like the orange ladies above, and no doubt the little male I saw at the pet store with the red band. In all likely hood he too will molt the band away. Shame really. Should it stay though that boy will likely find himself a breeder one day.  I would guess that even the boys pictured above with the red speckles around the neck will molt that in their first year too.

I won't be changing Viggo's diet anytime soon even if diet was the case. My understanding is that if it is diet related it would start with what the parents eat and pass it down to the baby by feeding in the nest. So this would be required from early on if it truly plays any part in feather coloration. Some say colored pellets are to blame but I would bet others would disagree with that.

In any case coloring of these amazing birds is so very interesting. If you are looking for a Blue Eclectus you better have a mortgage payment ready as I hear they are very pricey due to being so rare.

As for the subspecies information that too is interesting in itself. Such differences between the sub species, though slight with the exception of the ladies sporting their variations of red, purple or blue.

When you look at an Eclectus next time ask what subspecies. I find this the most interesting part about owning an Eclectus. Often people lack the research so the answer is either, "It's a male Eclectus" or "Its a female Eclectus." or "It's an Eclectus Parrot". Some Eclectus owners have no idea what subspecies or that there are subspecies for that matter and sometimes it's just a matter of being a cross or hybrid. As the males are all so alike with the exception of their size this happens all too often.