Need help with zebra finch

[alexbrgr]

I have a zebra finch with no cheek marks like a female but has side flanks like a male. Its father is ng ob/bb and mother is ff /bb. When it was in the juvie cage the other males acted normal around it so i thought it was a male. I put it with the older males and they all started to sing to it and a few mated with it. So now i guess it is a female. What do you guys think it is male or female and what mutation.

[Zebrafincher]

At a guess it looks female - from the teardrops, but if the other males are mating with 'him/her' its not always definitive. Male/Male pairs will form and 'mate' if deprived of females. I have an 11 yr old canary currently courting the other 3 finches in the room, and that's why he's only let out by himself! Finches do not appreciate being
courted by a much larger male canary!

[LuxandLolita]

I'm going to guess maybe fawn penguin Isabel?
let me check into this a bit more, i have not been keeping up with my genetics..

[Vargur]

your zebras are beautiful

this finch is very confusing!
the upper body looks like a female, no cheeks and the beak is light orange.
But it has full male flanks!!
Does it sing??

[Mick M.]

My guess is it's a male bird with those tell tale feather's on it's flank's . Also some bb cock mutation's have very feint cheek patche's , this may be the case with this fella and it just so happens his head colour is the same as his cheek's .
Regards , Mick M.

[alexbrgr]

He does not sing. I also thought he was a male at first until I released him and four other males into the male flight cage. When I released them all of the other males already in the cage went just to this bird and started singing dancing and mating with it. I have even seen a male society sing and mate with it. So I quess it is a female but have not seen a female with flanking like this before.

[cindy]

If this is a young bird wait a bit and set it up with a nest and a male, see what happens. I will message a friend of mine and ask him to look at this link and the bird to see if he or a friend of his can help explain what happened. I have heard of ghost flanking and have females that present with orange cheeks but never the flanking as yours has.

The females I have that are splits to parents that carry OB and BB some have the gray flanks with white spots, the chestnut flanking is unusal if this is a female.

[Jeff McKee]

I trust beak colouring as much as any strategy. Males get a rosy beak. Females not so much. Soooo.... if it's a young bird, it may be too soon to tell.

The reactions of the other birds, lack of singing... are definite indicators, but the flanking marks do indicate male... Chances are I would remove this bird from my program...

http://zebrafinch.info/colours/?language=en

A cheeked Isabel male, has the light cheek markings your bird displays and the flanks he displays.

[lstyles]

Maybe a BB isabel? The isabel would explain the light color and missing chest colors. The BB would explain the missing (or almost missing) cheek patches. I think pairing with a male will at least give you an idea of sex....that should help sort things out.
Lori

[Vargur]

The BB do not remove the cheeks, Lori

It should increase them, make them bigger.

I think Its a female, with male markings.

[lstyles]

I realize it won't do it with BB males but was thinking females it removes or almost removes tear and no cheek patch...just a thought.
Lori

[Vargur]

yes, lol, I am so sorry Lori

I was only thinking of the male markings.

but I was asking my friend and he thinks it is a "both sex" finch.
male and female.

[DanteD716]

If this is a young bird wait a bit and set it up with a nest and a male, see what happens. I will message a friend of mine and ask him to look at this link and the bird to see if he or a friend of his can help explain what happened. I have heard of ghost flanking and have females that present with orange cheeks but never the flanking as yours has.

The females I have that are splits to parents that carry OB and BB some have the gray flanks with white spots, the chestnut flanking is unusal if this is a female.

I would agree with the info Cindy has given and wai a bit longer. If it did not have flanks I would say it is a BBOB IS or BB/OB IS hen.

[Zebrafincher]

The indicators for gender present in nature (ie teardrops in females and no cheek patches, and orange patches and flank markings in males ) does not seem to necessarily matter or take account when people practise selective breeding! It sounds like the definite males in this situation think "its" a female, but who knows? I've seen females with black cheek patches.

[Vargur]

The indicators for gender present in nature (ie teardrops in females and no cheek patches, and orange patches and flank markings in males ) does not seem to necessarily matter or take account when people practise selective breeding! It sounds like the definite males in this situation think "its" a female, but who knows? I've seen females with black cheek patches.

thats why some mutations give the females that look, the cheeks.
like the black cheek mutation, (penguin) and fawn cheek/graycheek mutation.
Normaly the females dont have cheeks, unless they are these mutations or are split OB.Then they can show gosht markings in the cheeks and even faint flanks.