Aussie Finch Forum

Hi Cranberry,

I nearly got all excited when I glanced at your picture Gouldian 003 (Small).jpg

In this picture is a yellow bird taking off and at first glance I thought it was a Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) and I nearly jumped out of my chair!

Then on a second take I think it may be a Canary

So please put me out of my misery and tell me what it is (I think I know what you will say lol)

Sorry but it's a humble canary. That Saffron Finch is a very nice looking bird though. Never seen one of those...

Cranberry & natamambo. Here is a pic of an Australian Yellow showing a patch of purple on his breast. If this bird was genetically white breast it would be clean white. I also took a pic of him beside his sister. Notice his clean yellow back against her almost completely green back. This is due to him also being a SF euro yellow.

Please excuse their untidyness, they haven't quite finished their moult.

Is there any chance it could be a poorly marked DF Euro Yellow with a purple chest? I'm just throwing it out there as I'll repeat what I said before - I am under the impression that Aus Yellow birds cannot make dark pigment, only red and yellow.

I am absolutely positive this is an australian yellow. The parent hen is a SF euro yellow split for aus yellow. and the cock bird is a normal green back split to aus yellow. I have also had the same occur where both parents were normal green back splits.

Believe me Cranberry, this is quite common in australian yellows.

Thanks for clearing that up Matt. Yes your explanation and real world breeding outcomes seem to suggest that Aus Yellows can have dark pigment then. I guess the goal is to eliminate the dark pigments by crossing with white breasted birds and weeding out the ones that produce dark feathers. All very interesting stuff! I guess I'm lucky here in that none of my yellows have any pigment on their chest. Only 1 cock has a light blue ring around his head. The others are all clear and yellow.

Another question I've been trying to find the answer to is whether it's OK to breed 2 Aus Yellows together. I keep hearing that this can produce a lethal gene that will kill all chicks in the nest. Any truth to this?

[quote="natamambo"] * a YBDF RH hen whose bib is normal light purple and who has a very slight green tinge in the yellow on the back

Hi just a note,

Maybe it's just a typo but Hens can only be SF Yellow and not DF Yellow.

Simba wrote:

natamambo wrote: * a YBDF RH hen whose bib is normal light purple and who has a very slight green tinge in the yellow on the back

Hi just a note,

Hens can only be SF Yellow and not DF Yellow.

Yeah, I know that but she will exhibit the characteristics of a DF so I was trying to keep genotypes simple by using them to describe the phenotype since the conversation was in part about the strength of a gene's impact on phenotype....

Possible not a good move though.

Matt that is very interesting. I have an Australian yellow cock with purple chest markings like your cock bird in photo. I bred this bird with a PB split/blue normal greenback and one of the offspring is a S/F yellowback hen. By what you have said I now understand how this has happened. This is the only offspring like this out of two nest. The other birds colouured up as normals with and without bib markings as per Aus Yellow splits.

Matt, you've in part successfully answered my original question, which is what happens when a cock is both Aus Yellow and Euro yellow (as far as phenotype is concerned) by stating an Aus yellow can have some face & bib colour if he's also Euro yellow.

Do you know what happens if the cock is DF Euro & Aus yellow? I ask primarily based on the bird I bought last week that triggered my original question. Is it possible that this bird is both YB (DForSF) & Aus Yellow or is he just an exceptionally colored YB?