Lady Gouldian Finch | Breeding | Gouldian Genetics Page 1

There are really only 3 back colors; Green, Yellow, and Blue. The genetic makeup determines whether a bird is "single factor" or
"double factor". This will be explained in depth a little later!

Green or Normal - this green is a deep grass green. It is the same in cock and hen birds though cocks tend
to be a bit glossier and the green may be a bit deeper. As with many other species of finch, the cocks are
"brighter" and much more flashy than the hens.

Dilute Green - this is a paler version of the green back. The deep grass green and other colors on the bird
are a bit washed out to a lime green color. Black in these birds will be non-existent. Even in a black headed
bird, the head can appear more gray than black. Hens cannot be dilute. Dilute chicks in the nest will be much
paler green than their normal colored nest mates.

Yellow - this yellow may be light - like lemonade - or deep in a color I like to call garlic butter. It is the same in
cocks and hens and may even contain a greenish tint. Occasionally yellow birds will have single or several
spots of pale green in their back feathers. Many breeders will attempt to breed this green spotting out of their
yellow birds as it is considered a "fault". Yellow chicks in the nest will have what appear to be "red eyes" for the
first few days after hatching, and will be very pale in comparison to their nest mates.

Blue - blue backed birds are almost a dusty grayish blue. Again, the depth of blue and the actual color of the
blue with depend on the genetics of the parent birds. Blue chicks are steel grey and will look obviously
different from their green or yellow nest mates.

Pastel - pastel birds are the "dilute" version of a blue backed male. Here again, hens cannot be "pastel"

Silver - silver birds are nearly white and are part of the "blue" mutation.

Well folks, I'm going to try to explain genetics in plain English here. Too many other sites use technical language and big words
that leave some of us scratching our heads, including me - So here goes nothing...

Gouldian Genetics - Page 1

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THESE GENETICS PAGES ARE UNDER EXTREME CONSTRUCTION AS I FIGURE OUT THE SIMPLEST
WAY TO EXPLAIN EACH SECTION - PLEASE BEAR WITH ME WHILE I SORT IT ALL OUT!

First - The Easy Stuff

There are several color mutations currently known in Lady Gouldian finches. They are defined in "head color", "breast color" and
"back color" and in most cases, may be a combination of any of these - the combinations are what makes explaining the genetics
for these birds so difficult!

HEAD COLORS

Note: A bird may be single factor, double factor, or single factor carrying another single or double factor gene. This will be explained later.

Black Head - in cock and hen birds, a pure velvety black that covers it's entire face and throat. A black headed bird
carrying a double factor yellow head gene will have a yellow tipped beak instead of the normal red one.

Red Head - in cock birds, typically a deep shade of crimson red though it may range from crimson to "stop sign red", or
even slightly orange-red. The red is surrounded by a thin line of black on the crown and a full throat of black. In hen birds,
this red head can be anything from a pure red to nearly all black with a few spots of red in the mask. Sometimes a hen will
not show she is a red head until after her first adult molt, perhaps longer!

Yellow Head - 'Oy, orange, yellow - depending on who you talk to you'll get both yellow and orange but meaning the same
thing. A yellow headed bird has an almost orangish-yellow head, usually more orange than yellow, but never a true
"yellow". Its beak tip will be yellow, not red. As with the red head cock birds, yellow head cocks the yellow is outlined by a
deep velvety black. In hens, there may be mottling in the mask, and often times the black surrounding the mask also
extends around the beak. Because there is no such thing as an "orange" gene, the true technical term is "yellow head".

BREAST COLORS

Purple Breast - in cock birds a deep royal purple. Hens have a rose or pale purple breast.

White Breast - a mutation occurring in both cocks and hens. If the bird is truly a "white breast",
the white will be a pure white. Birds with flecks of any shade of purple in their white breast are
considered "bad white breasted" birds.

Lilac or Lavender Breast - a mutation occurring in both cocks and hens. This color can
range from a very pale purple breast, not unlike that in a normal hen bird, to a deeper purple not
quite as deep as a normal cock bird.

BACK COLORS

Cock

Hen

White Breast

Bad White/Lilac
Breast

LADY GOULDIAN FINCH GENETICS

Cock

It may help to think about the colors like this:

The "greens" - these birds all belong to a less complicated genetic pool starting with the basic normal green. The ability to process "lutein" or
yellow, and "melanin" or black, plays a large factor in their color once you stray from the normal to dilute or yellow - Normal Green, Dilute
Green, Yellow.

The "blues" - these birds belong to a more complicated genetic pool. The inability to process "lutein" or the LACK of yellow plays the largest
factor in their coloring beginning with the blue, then moving on to the inability to process "melanin" in the pastels and silvers - Blue, Pastel,
Silver.

Carotenoids: include lutein (yellow) and astaxantin (red). Any of a class of yellow to red pigments, including the carotenes and the
xanthophylls. Lutein is not manufactured in the bird's body. It is absorbed from its food. Astaxantin is produced from the lutein
absorbed.Carotenoids are organic pigments that are naturally occurring in chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthetic organisms
like algae, some types of fungus and some bacteria. There are over 600 known carotenoids; they are split into two classes, xanthophylls and
carotenes. They absorb blue light. Their colour, ranging from pale yellow through bright orange to deep red, is directly linked to their structure.
Xanthophylls are often yellow, hence their class name.

Melanins: include eumelanin (black) and phaeomelanin (reddish-brown). Brown pigment in the skin and elsewhere. It is made in
melanocytes, which are cells in the deepest layer of the epidermis, and these distribute granules of pigment to the other skin cells. Synthesis is
stimulated by sunlight, and also by a hormone from the anterior pituitary gland.
Source: Answers.com - http://www.answers.com/topic/melanin?cat=health

A bird has feathers that are each individually colored. When these feathers are all put together, they create a kind of illusion that makes us
see a specific color, like green. The feathers on a Gould are made up of colors like a watercolor set (though breeding and genetics won't
produce colors in the birds like mixing watercolors).

You probably learned in your elementary school art class that yellow and blue make green, yes? Well, the feather color of Goulds works
somewhat like that in that the color is determined by the amount of dark pigment (biochromes), and light pigment (carotenoids) in their genetic
makeup. These proteins are Melanin - which determines the darkness of the feathers (the blue and black part), and Lutein - which determines
the lightness of the feathers (the yellow part). Yellow and blue make green! And while it doesn't exactly work like that, it's a good place to start!

Put in simple terms, each bird receives melanin and lutein genes from both of it's parents which then completes their colors.

Simple Watercolor Set? Not Exactly!

Terminology

Autosomal: Autosomal can be broken down into two distinct traits - dominant and recessive. An autosomal dominant gene is one that occurs
on an autosomal (non-sex determining) chromosome, or the first X in the above mentioned strand. As it is dominant, the phenotype (physical
appearance) it gives will be expressed even if the gene is heterozygous. This contrasts with recessive genes, which need to be homozygous to
be expressed.

Homozygous: An organism is homozygous for a particular gene when identical alleles of the gene are present on both homologous
chromosomes. The cell or organism in question is called a homozygote. True breeding organisms are always homozygous for the traits that
are to be held constant. An individual that is homozygous dominant for a particular trait carries two copies of the allele that codes for the
dominant trait. This allele, often called the "dominant allele", is normally represented by a capital letter (such as "P" for purple flowers, which
are dominant in pea plants). When an organism is homozygous dominant for a particular trait, the genotype is represented by a doubling of
the symbol for that trait, such as "PP".

Phenotype: in simple terms, the "phenotype" is the visual physical appearance of the color of the bird. It's the "what you see" portion of
genetics.

Genotype: again, in simple terms, the "genotype" is the actual genes the bird carries. It's the "what you get" portion of the genetics. In other
words, "what you see" is not always "what you get"!

Moving on...check out the link below for more information

EXAMPLE:

This photo somewhat explains how the yellow plays such a huge part in
the feather makeup and how the colors deceive the eye.

This is a normal green Gouldian cock flight feather. Under the scope
with light directed right through it, it appears to be a yellow feather!

Because of the light intensity, the feather is still giving us the
impression it is something it is not and looks almost "orange". This
shows us a deception the combination of light and color makes our
eyes believe!

Green Gouldian chick - Blue Gouldian chick

Green chick on left,
Blue chick on right