Now I'm confused about what I have

[finchlover1]

I can't get a pic of my birds so I'll try to describe them. I'm confused after seeing beautiful pics on another post.

All CWFs (I think):

1st pair: male: has the markings around the wings, cheek patches, no lines under the eyes.

female: has very very light brown but is white with no lines under the eyes.

2nd pair: male: same markings as first male but does have lines under the eyes.

female: same as first female but does not have lines under the eyes.

What do I have? I know they are all CWFs. Are my males and females backwards where each pair should have the lines under the eyes and the other pair don't have the lines under the eyes.

One pair is already on eggs. I wish I could take pics. I could but they would have to be through the cage bars. What do you think?

[finchlover1]

I took the best pics I could. What do I have? The lines under the eyes is what's confusing me.

[Nagdabit]

Generally the absence or diminishing of tear drops and black markings in general, can indicate a Florida Fancy presence. Although we do have some CFW hens with very dilute teardrops and tail bar markings. FF hens will usually have some slight orangish coloring on their lower body

Now when you say your hen with no tear drops has very light brown do you mean like a slight brownish cast over her back or a slight darkening on her lower quarters near the vent area?

As for your males, does the one with less black markings have more pronounced color in his flank markings? The flanks on CFW males are a more muted shade of orangish / brown (more to the yellow), while the FF boys will have a more reddish tone to their coloring.

Too it's not out of the realm of possibility that your male with the lessened black markings is a CFW/FF mix of some sort. One of the Patriarchs of our flock had bright white feathers with just a hint of tear drops and a splash of brownish red in his flanks. After numerous clutches we discerned that he was a CFW/FF mix, producing CFW, FF, and Solid White offspring, depending on who he was mated with.

[finchlover1]

Boy, you know your stuff. I had to pick the one color I can't figure out. Go figure.

Ok, ready?

Female: very, very slight brownish cast over back but you'd be hard pressed to see it unless you're looking for it.

Male: lines under eyes. the flanks are a spoty brown color.

Does any of this help?

[finchmix22]

Lyn,
If you go to the search tab and type in zebra mutations, you'll get several posts about the type of zebras you have with pictures. I think they called them Isabel.
Deborah

[finchlover1]

Deborah,
Thank you so much. Will do it now. Lyn

[Nagdabit]

I apologize for the detailed rant over colors. My background in refinishing has left me with a discerning eye for tints. It is not all that uncommon for CFW hens to have a fawnish cast. We've had a few ourselves. While the Continental CFW mutation has an even more prominent fawn coloring, the other markings are rather distinct and most likely would be discernible if your hen was displaying them.

I apologize but I don't remember if you said you had looked on efinch for an identification. Roy's breakdown of the CFW mutation is very specific and both the pictures and the text might help to answer some questions for you.

http://www.efinch.com/species/cfwzeb.htm

Chances are however that Isabel is not involved in your birds. European Isabel is just that, mainly an European mutation. While there have been some birds bred here in the states, the genetic background is different from both Florida Fancy and CFW mutations. Again Mr. Beckham at Efinch provided a very nice comparison of the mutations.

http://www.efinch.com/species/ffxisabelzeb.htm

Unfortunately with the Zebras' unique ability to harbor so many different genetic combinations, the only way you may be able to discern your birds backgrounds for sure is to see what offspring they produce. (aka "test breeding") That's mainly how we were able to determine the background of our aforementioned male, Frost. He and his kids went a long way in helping to "school" us on the variety of Zebra mutations. Just for comparison purposes, here's a pic of our good buddy Frost, whom we just recently lost

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu14 ... C02104.jpg

[finchmix22]

That site is very helpful. I get confused with the similar terms and mutations. Your male was so beautiful. Sorry you lost him.

[Nagdabit]

Glad to hear it helped. Efinch is always my first look when questioning all things finches. If you like them on facebook you can get some cool updates and pics.

Thank you for your condolences. The wife and I both took Frost's passing very hard. We'd had him for over 6 years and had grown very fond of the little fella.

[finchlover1]

Thank you. My best. Lyb

[Vargur]

Sometimes the tearmark on cfw's is large or very reduced or absent.
but I think its right that birds with absent tearmark are mixed with
mutations that dont have the tearmark like ff or isabels...

[finchlover1]

Thank you for the confirmation. Lyn