What gender is this budgie?

[Sheather]

Can anyone make a guess based on the cere? The owner does not know for sure whether it's a male or a female and its cere isn't bright blue but nor is it pink or tan. The bird is several years old.

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Oh boy, Dylan, are we in the same boat? Trying to figure out Budgies? Is this birdie coming to live with you, to join the other three kids?

~Elana~

[cindy]

we need to see the front of the bird, a close up clear picture of the cere, nostril area.

[Sheather]

Sheather
Oh boy, Dylan, are we in the same boat? Trying to figure out Budgies? Is this birdie coming to live with you, to join the other three kids?

~Elana~

Lovezebs

I think s/he is. My aunt and I were just saying how lonesome our poor English blue budgie Sydney - who we adopted from a family friend moving across country just a few weeks ago - seemed. Arthur, the green budgie I found in our yard, and Alex, the green budgie purchased as a companion, are absolutely inseparable, and Alex is very possessive of Arthur. He doesn't let Sydney play with him. Sydney just sits alone and mumbles to himself in the corner. But, I didn't want to purchase another parakeet, I figured we had quite a lot of birds and needn't buy anymore.

But, then I see Sunny advertised. "Single Yellow Parakeet seeks the company of others. Widowed and lonely! Adopt me into your loving home with others of my kind. $1 adoption fee. I need to move away from a cat that has tragically taken an intense primal interest in me! D: "

And it seems meant to be....

[MiaCarter]

Aw, it does sound meant to be!

It's very difficult to tell from that angle.
If I had to make a guess, I'd say male as it looks more bluish than pink/tan and it seems smooth. But that's just going by peeking at a close-up zoom of the photo in GIMP. I'm comparing the cere color to the beak, which appears to be a horn color.
But that's just a guess on a not-so-fabulous photo.

Also remember that if this is a lutino, a boy wouldn't have a blue cere. Different rules apply for lutinos.

It would be more like this:


(At least I believe Louise is a boy. It's hard to tell. In natural light, the cere looks more pinkish tan. Indoors, it looks pinkish blue. But it's smooth like a male, so I think boy.)

Is your guy a lutino?
You mentioned yellow parakeet. And he seems to have the same color patterns as a lutino, except what should be a white cheek patch looks to be blue and his back looks more greenish, even when I color corrected to remove the blue cast and desaturation.



Of course, if he's not a lutino, then the normal cere color rules would apply.

Regardless of gender, I'd scoop 'im! This guy needs a friend. Your guy needs a friend.

[cindy]

this may help.... http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advi ... exing-cere

[cindy]

this also, one of the be best webpages for budgies http://www.cutelittlebirdiesaviary.com/ ... sexed.html

[MiaCarter]

cindy - Thanks for those sites! Those are great resources!
Do you happen to know of any that show comparisons of males and females of lutinos? I did quite a bit of googling and couldn't find any.
I found a good exceptions page here:
http://www.cutelittlebirdiesaviary.com/ ... dgies.html
But no male/female comparisons.

Alas, I think on my guy, I'll need to pluck a feather and send it out when I DNA sex my silverbill.

Perhaps you'll have to do the same, Sheather?
That's always an option if you can't figure it out for certain!

[cindy]

Mia, I have that somewhere in my files. If I can't locate it I will ask my friend for the link again then post it for you.

[cindy]

http://www.araratasa.org.au/sexing-budgies.html
http://littlefeatheredbuddies.com/info/ ... dgies.html

[Finnie]

The bird in the ad is not a lutino. It is an opaline greywing light (probably) green. Lutinos have red eyes and are solid yellow, no other color or markings.

It actually appears to be a girl, but the whiteness I see on the cere could just be sunlight washing out any blue color. That's why Cindy said we need a front shot of its cere, which isn't likely to be coming unless you bring him/her home.

If your other three budgies are boys, and this one turns out to be a girl, you will need to keep them in two cages, two by two. Housing a single female in a cage with three males is a recipe for disaster. That might be finding out just what genders they are the hard way. ;)

Mia, I would bet 99% that Louise is a male. If she is a girl, her cere will turn dark chocolate, then thick and crusty, then flake away back to the original color. This happens on a regular basis, and if it doesn't happen within six months, male would be a good guess. Unless there's some reason you absolutely have to know, then DNA testing on a budgie is a waste of money, but your call. (Even if you were hoping to breed them, you have to wait until the cere turns dark creamy tan, and then you have your answer. If you're tired of waiting, then that is your answer, the other way. )

You know, Dylan, I saw that ad for the "single yellow parakeet" the other day, but it's gone now. Did you end up taking it?

[Sheather]

Finnie It may very well be the same ad! Do you get Chicago ads by you?

@MiaCarter - I don't think a DNA test is necessary, I should be able to tell. If Sunny is a girl, she and my blue boy Sydney will move into another room together to leave the little lovebirds Alex and Arthur together in the bird room. I wouldn't trust a hen with my finches, I fear she might take over nests when she gets ready to breed and I hear they won't mind killing any nestlings inside D:

In any case Sunny is coming over this afternoon! Likely once I see him/her in person, both her cere and how she behaves, I'll be able to tell right away his/her gender myself but I'll still be sure to post a photo! Whatever she is I think her colors are so beautiful, she seems similar to my Sydney in having no black speckles at all and a smooth transition of color. I think they'll make a great pair together. Sydney is completely ignored by the other males now. Alex is so possessive of his buddy Arthur, even if Arthur tries to play with Sydney Alex chases him off.



@Cindy Finnie What would you say Sydney and Alex's mutations are? Alex I know is a wild-type green, Arthur seems sort of pied, and Sydney is a really pretty sky blue with no dark marks. Could he be a spangle?

[Sheather]

She came! Oh my gosh she is tiny! Smaller than a Java Sparrow! Apparently she's 5 years old and has lost two companions now, poor thing. She's apparently been very distressed since the loss of her recent friend and has lost a bit of weight. Hopefully she does better now.



Her cere is still a bit confusing to me. It's blue, for sure, but gets paler, nearly white, near the nostrils. It's nowhere near the intensity of my other males' ceres, but it's not pink, or tan, and it looks pretty smooth to me. Apparently s/he spent five years with two males and a nestbox and never built a nest, but also apparently s/he was mounted by the definite males at times.





I'm guessing Sunny is *maybe* male based on this? Baby budgie hens have blue ceres at times but Sunny is 5 years old. I have however not seen an adult male budgie with such a light cere.

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Congratulations Dylan.
What a pretty/handsome little bird. From what I've been reading and hearing from those who are more budgie wise by far than I, I would hazard a guess of 'boy', but then what do I know?

I love your Sydney. The colours remind me of my Freebee. Isn't it just beautiful?

I hope that Sunny and Sydney hit it off from the get go. They deserve to be happy. Oh, I loved the ad for Sunny, really captures a person's attention. By the way, is Syd quite a bit bigger than the other budgies? In the picture, he appears quite large.

~Elana~

[Sheather]

Lovezebs Sydney is an English budgie and comes from a show line. He is over twice as large as most others. Sunny is actually, conversely, exceptionally little! Compared to Sydney, she looks almost like a little toy.