but you summed it up a lot quicker than i did
How do you classify a bird as a mutation?
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toothlessjaws
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i think kelvin has done a good job of summing it up mutation and how it drives evolution.
in the sense we are talking about, a mutation is a change in cells that changes the appearance of the birds - most often their feather colour. most of the mutant variations in aviculture originated there - by inbreeding we have a higher chance of mutation and then by providing a protected environment in the aviary we allow those birds with disadvantageous to survive and propagate.
but not all. some birds and other animals have mutations that survive naturally as they are not disadvantageous to their survival. examples are the red, black and yellow head colours of gouldians that originate in wild populations. or the melanism in leopards and jaguars that create black "panthers". in this case the black mutation (interestingly caused by a different gene in both leopards and jaguars) does not hinder the cats ability to hunt and in some cases (such as dark rainforests) appears slightly advantageous. so the mutation has become common and prevalent in the mutation creating two natural "variations" for both species.
white tigers and lions that we see in zoos on the otherhand, is a disadvantageous mutation. both mutations have failed to survive in the wild (in their manifested form) and have been propagated in captivity via harmful inbreeding. if you visit a zoo with white tigers or lions - feel free to chastise them when they refer to it as a "species" or "endangered". in actual fact they are only polluting the genetics of captive lion/tiger populations with a undesirable trait.
there are even weirder mutations in the wild that we can't visually see - but the carriers of the mutation certainly can. did you know that most south american monkey species, considered primitive by global monkey standards - have populations where half of the monkeys are completely colourblind? they are essentially still in the process of evolving full colour vision!
in the sense we are talking about, a mutation is a change in cells that changes the appearance of the birds - most often their feather colour. most of the mutant variations in aviculture originated there - by inbreeding we have a higher chance of mutation and then by providing a protected environment in the aviary we allow those birds with disadvantageous to survive and propagate.
but not all. some birds and other animals have mutations that survive naturally as they are not disadvantageous to their survival. examples are the red, black and yellow head colours of gouldians that originate in wild populations. or the melanism in leopards and jaguars that create black "panthers". in this case the black mutation (interestingly caused by a different gene in both leopards and jaguars) does not hinder the cats ability to hunt and in some cases (such as dark rainforests) appears slightly advantageous. so the mutation has become common and prevalent in the mutation creating two natural "variations" for both species.
white tigers and lions that we see in zoos on the otherhand, is a disadvantageous mutation. both mutations have failed to survive in the wild (in their manifested form) and have been propagated in captivity via harmful inbreeding. if you visit a zoo with white tigers or lions - feel free to chastise them when they refer to it as a "species" or "endangered". in actual fact they are only polluting the genetics of captive lion/tiger populations with a undesirable trait.
there are even weirder mutations in the wild that we can't visually see - but the carriers of the mutation certainly can. did you know that most south american monkey species, considered primitive by global monkey standards - have populations where half of the monkeys are completely colourblind? they are essentially still in the process of evolving full colour vision!