Aussie Finch Forum

A bird that I got from Gomer earlier this year has never looked "quite right" with it's colouring but I've never fussed about it. However with the recent good weather I've had time and ability to just sit in the aviary and watch it to work out why. The beak is yellow, almost the colour of a longtails, the eyes are deep yellow / orange as is the rump 9which has a bit more red in it).

New mutation that neither he nor I noticed or some other cause? I've never seen a redbrow this colour and all the other redbrows in the various flights I've had him in while I've rearranged birds over the last few months have maintained full colour.

Sorry about the crummy photos, they're as good as my hands will allow at the moment.....

Years ago there were a couple of breeders breeding yellow mutation redbrows. Never really became properly established.

Many closely related birds have similar mutations: stars, crimsons, paints, diamonds.
I think it's a mutation.

I know a person who has a lesser redbrow that has yellow instead of red. I must admit they look a bit washed out and not as nice as the true ones.

Thanks Brooksy,that bird fledged a slightly different colour to my normal lessers and never really looked a 100% fit,in the holding cage it got yellower and yellower and it always had a wet vent.After giving it a cocktail of many things it came good and over time it went from yellow to red orange similar to Natamambo's redbrow,but over a few months it faded again and got the wet vent and died.
Imo,i'm pretty sure it had a liver problem as i know liver problems can cause colour changes in feathers,i noticed that your redbrow Natamambo,has ruffled wing feathers with white tips,the latter should not be there and i'm wondering if it has the same problem mine had as i don't think it is a mutation imo. Craig

Craig the wing feathers may be me - I had two tries at catching him and photographing him due to my hands, I had to let him go and then catch him up again so the feathers did get a bit ruffled (in more ways than one ). Vent is clean and bird is very healthy and is three years old. I spoke to Gomer before posting and he's checking his remaining flock as he suspects he has at least one other with this colouring.

There also appears to be a lot of barring on the tail feathers. It would be interesting to see if the feather structure is normal or just the pattern in which the pigment is deposited in the feather is abnormal

I may be wrong but I think this is abnormal in this species.

The faded colour, white tips to the wing feathers & the barring (if abnormal) suggest some metabolic abnormality and impaired ability to develop normal pigment, even though the bird itself appears healthy.

I have seen birds with similar pigment abnormalities in other species. The less severe ones eventually moult back to normal. The more severe ones seem to die prematurely.

Time will tell if it is an acquired change due to some abnormaility/illness/deficiency or if indeed it is a mutation.

Hopefully, Natamambo, it's the latter!!

Let us know how it goes and if it breeds what its offspring are like.

Very Interesting Red Brow Natamambo

Tiaris wrote:Years ago there were a couple of breeders breeding yellow mutation redbrows. Never really became properly established.

Thats probably a good thing.

desertbirds wrote:

Tiaris wrote:Years ago there were a couple of breeders breeding yellow mutation redbrows. Never really became properly established.

Thats probably a good thing.

Ooohhh DB, here was I getting excited about discovering a "first" .

Gomer confirms he has at least one other bird that looks like mine, we'll catch it up on the weekend we all visit him and try and get some decent shots of it.