Aussie Finch Forum

The preferred colour for a Chestnut as per the proposed BBS standard in 2001 was that a Chestnut be of a "Dark Coffee Brown" colour much like the pictures below.

Nice

Are the terms Chocolate and Chestnut interchangable? Perhaps it's my unpracticed eye, but I don't see any real difference...

Generally a Chocolate will have dark brown to an almost black flights, tail and face where a Chestnut has more of a colour range between a caramel to an instant coffee look.

Hopefully these images will help.

http://www.australian-bengalese-finch.c ... d=13229948
http://www.australian-bengalese-finch.c ... d=13229905

Regards

Paul

I see, so theres a slight colour dilution at work (though not as much a a true dilute)
So, are Fawn and Ginger the same then? With (i assume) Ginger being a combo of the Fawn and Chestnut mutations?

Generally speaking yes. A Ginger and a Fawn are the same thing. However with all the Bengalese colours there is typically a degree of variation between every one and Gingers can be selectively bred for a darker bird but most that you find in Australia are a mid-light fawn/ginger looking colour.
Here is a bit of a run down on Bengalese colours.

http://www.australian-bengalese-finch.com/colours.htm


The Bengalese Colour is Melanin Based, where the wild type bird is made up of two separate types of Melanin pigments
1) Euomelanin - Black/Dark Brown Pigments
2) Phaomelanin -Red/Brown Pigments.

For discussion sake a good Chocolate could be said to have a pigment value of
Euomelanin (Black/Brown) 80
Phaeomelanin (Red/Brown) 80

Chestnut
Euomelanin (Black/Brown) 40
Phaeomelanin (Red/Brown) 80

Ginger
Euomelanin (Black/Brown) 0
Phaeomelanin (Red/Brown) 80

I hope that helps a bit.

Hi,

Here is one of my Chestnut Selfs bred this season.

Some of the chicks coming out of my Chestnuts are almost grey. I read somewhere that grey is a seperate colour? Do you know much about this?
LML

Hi FB,

Grey Bengalese are very well represented overseas. It is a very possible mutation in Australia that just needs some selective pressure.

I'll use the method above to explain;

1) Euomelanin - Black/Dark Brown Pigments
2) Phaomelanin -Red/Brown Pigments.

A Chocolate/Grey could be said to have a pigment value of
Euomelanin (Black/Brown) 80
Phaeomelanin (Red/Brown) 0

Chestnut/Grey
Euomelanin (Black/Brown) 40
Phaeomelanin (Red/Brown) 0

Ginger
Euomelanin (Black/Brown) 5?
Phaeomelanin (Red/Brown) 0

Ginger or Fawn grey is yet to be proven in Australia and is an area of differing opinion and explanation. As for Chocolate and Chestnut Greys I believe they are very possible.

Developing an Australian Grey is one of my personal projects at the moment.

I hope that helps a bit.

Thank you. Do you know the genetic inheritence of the gray gene? Which would seem to be similar to blue in budgies, in that is comes in shades choc/gray, chestnut/gray, like cobolt/blue, sky/blue. Though I have noticed fawn in Bengos comes in shades from deep ginger to dilute fawn, and a couple in between, like us human blondes everything from redblond to platinum blonde.
LML