Aussie Finch Forum

A clutch of 5 Zebra Finches fledged last December. Two were coloured like normals and coloured up to be a normal looking male and a normal looking female. One other was very dark and coloured up to be a charcoal male, complete with cheek patches. The other two were a lighter gray than normal and coloured up to the mystery birds I'd like help identifying please. One looks to be female but with light grey cheek patches. The other looks to be a diluted male charcoal(with zebra tail). I haven't really seen photos of similar looking birds with their colour ID alongside. The incubating/feeding parents are normal looking though I'm sure both carry charcoal and red genes - and there are other birds in the aviary that could have sneaked their genes (also normal/charcoal/red) into the nest.

Male is either a Silver Charcoal or Slate Charcoal. Hen is hard to tell mayb Red Fawn. Guessing for her.

Thanks Mark. I knew you would have an answer.

If Silver or Slate is being expressed in the male, couldn't the female also be Silver or Slate, without the Charcoal?

Yeah she could be Slate, not a Silver.

I think there is a red gene in the mix here.

In order (for the top photo) i'd say: Slate Charcoal male, Slate female, Charcoal male, Normal Grey female.

The reason I believe it's Slate and not Silver is the lack of dilution of any of the chestnut colouring. The Silver gene dilutes everything, the Slate gene seems to dilute everything except the chestnut colouring (flanks and cheeks).

Thanks for the replies. Without knowing any better I will consider the two lighter birds to be Slate. Today, the same parents fledged yet another coloured bird - I think it is Fawn but I don't have any Fawn Zebra Finches to compare it to.

Sounds like your parent birds are even more mixed up than some of mine. Nice looking bunch they are but.
LML

The mystery female is just a Grey, the shade of the tear marks are lighter than normal but she is not a silver because the rest of her body are the normal grey colouring.