FINCHforum

Hi,

I have some questions on the orange (aka yellow) headed Gouldian.

Both the orange and yellow are supposed to be the same, so if you have two 'butter' yellow birds paired, does this mean they can produce chicks with 'pumkin' orange heads and vice versa? Is it random?

Are there environmental factors that determine the head colour if it's not genetic (if the orange and yellow truely are the same) such as temperature at incubation, etc?

Or would the "degree" of yellow or orange in the face mask of the parents determine the "degree" in the chicks'?

Thanks for any clarification.
-Julie

I found a tiny bit of information last night. It doesn't really answer any of my questions but clarifies the genetics a bit.

"If the sex-linked locus is responsible for the production of red, then the Black Head cannot have a red tipped beak. The Yellow Head shows us the inactivity of this locus; we all know that yellow pigments are the "early" steps for the production of red pigments. This is the locus that produces red in the wild type and if that is not activated, the only color it can produce will be yellow.

(I use the term Yellow Head versus Orange Head, because it is clearly the same locus that these "yellow" colors produces in other Australian finches, including the yellow beak zebra finch and many others. The color may well be yellow/ orange, but I use the term yellow because that always has been the standard with Goulds and zebra finches in Australia, since colors were noticed and recorded."

Van den Abeele, July 27, 2003. The Gouldian Finches - Part 2. MUTAVI - Research & Advice Group. http://users.skynet.be/fa398872/navfram.en.htm. Accessed May 10, 2008.

(Sorry, not sure how strict the plagerism rules are here.)

I also found this:

"The yellow- headed variety is very rare in the wild state. In the case of the yellow-headed variety the colour most often seen is a rich burnt orange or copper. These so-called yellow (orange)-heads are now reasonably well established in aviaries and in some countries sell for less than the red-heads. The birds with a light butter yellow head are rare indeed and do not yet seem to be established in aviaries."

Anderson, Rae V., June/July, 1976. Success With Gouldians. AFA Watchbird. National Finch & Softbill Society. http://www.nfss.org/Articles/Article/Goulds-1.htm. Accessed: May 10, 2008.

This was written over 30 years ago, so hopefully the "butter yellow" headed goulds are a little more established now.

Ok, so the yellow/orange genes are at one locus - this doesn't necessarily mean they are the same gene though, right? They could *technically* be two completely different head colours?

Does anyone here have any experience with the "butter yellow"s?

-Julie