Black-winged Lovebird (Agapornis taranta) - Colour mutations

Dark green (D green) Black-winged Lovebird (Agapornis taranta), male bird. Generally speaking, the bird appears darker throughout its green plumage, which does not vary in so many shades of green. The green colour can appear a little bluish and thus more "cold" in tone.

As has already been stated elsewhere, www.birdkeeper.dk is not a forum for colour mutation birds, with a few exceptions. One of these exceptions is the dark factor colour mutations that have occurred in the Black-winged Lovebird (Agapornis taranta). I have always been a big fan of this species, so when I saw the Olive green colour mutation for the first time a years ago, I fell head over heels for it and could not get this very beautiful colour mutation out of my mind. However, at the time in question it was not immediately possible to acquire this colour mutation in Denmark, which I can really understand, because when you own this colour mutation, which is so beautiful, you naturally don't want to sell it. However, in the spring of 2010 I succeeded to get a part of the way to this colour mutation, when I acquired a couple of Dark green colour mutations from a Dutch breeder, where I had actually only agreed to pick up a number of wild-coloured specimens. During the same summer I got in touch with a Belgian aviculturist who also kept dark factor colour mutations of the Black-winged Lovebird. In September 2010 - in connection with the BVA Masters 2010 - the trip therefore also went to this Belgian aviculturist. In addition to Dark green colour mutations, he also had a magnificent specimen of the Olive green colour mutation sitting, and my fingers were itching to bring this incredibly large and beautiful bird home to Denmark. It didn't happen without a “sword strike”, and the bird ended up being the most expensive “budgerigar” I'd ever bought (up until then), which I certainly didn't regret.

In this article, the common Danish colour mutation designations for these dark factor birds are primarily used, which are Dark green and Olive green respectively. However, the current international designations for these colour mutations are "D green" (D = the English word Dark = dark) for Dark green and "DD Green" (DD = Double Dark = double dark) for Olive green.

Incidentally, the olive-green colour mutation among the Lovebirds (Agapornis) first appeared in the Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis), way back in 1968 in Australia, and from the beginning of the 1980’s I worked with dark factor colour mutations in this species, why Dark green and Olive green colour mutations were thus not entirely unknown to me.

Dark green (D green) Black-winged Lovebird, female bird. Generally speaking, the bird appears darker throughout its green plumage, which does not vary in so many shades of green. The green colour can appear a little bluish and thus more "cold" in tone.

Colour description

The darkness factor is merely a structural change in the bird's green plumage (see below), which causes birds carrying this trait to appear to the human eye either dark green or olive green compared to the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird (for a description of the wild-coloured bird, please refer to the separate article on the Black-winged Lovebird at www.birdkeeper.dk).

Below is a colour description of the "green series" of dark factor colour mutations within the Black-winged Lovebird:

Dark green colour mutation (D green):

Male: The forehead up to the front part of the head (crown) and a narrow ring around the eyes are red. Cheeks, neck and sides of the neck are deep dark green, which gradually changes to a slightly lighter shade on the chest, belly (abdomen), sides of the body, under rump and tail. Back and wing coverts dark green. Upper tail coverts also dark green, the undertail coverts are a bit lighter. Other colours are as in the wild-coloured bird.

The female: The female bird completely lacks the red plumage on the forehead and around the eyes, but instead has a narrow and very inconspicuous green ring of feathers around the eyes. Underwing coverts are black with dark green. The rest of the bird resembles the dark green male.

It can be difficult for the untrained eye to see that this is a Dark green colour mutation. This colour mutation will be easier to spot when you have a wild-coloured specimen sitting next to it. It is also my impression that the plumage of the Dark green colour mutation does not change to the same warm (emerald) green shades as you see in the plumage of the wild-coloured bird.

I also have a Dark green male bird, which in certain light has a distinct olive green tint to the head and sides of the neck, which can be seen below.

Olive green colour mutation (DD green):

Male: The forehead up to the front part of the head (crown) and a narrow ring around the eyes are red. Cheeks, neck and neck sides olive green, which gradually changes to a slightly lighter shade on the chest, belly (abdomen), body sides, under rump and tail. Back and wing coverts olive green. Upper tail coverts olive green, the undertail coverts are slightly lighter. Other colours are as in the wild-coloured bird.

The female: The female bird completely lacks the red plumage on the forehead and around the eyes, but instead has a narrow and very inconspicuous olive yellow ring of feathers around the eyes. Underwing coverts are black with olive green. The rest of the bird resembles the olive-green male.

Dark green (D green) Black-winged Lovebird, male bird. Generally speaking, the bird appears darker throughout its green plumage, which does not vary in so many shades of green. The green colour can appear a little bluish and thus less warm in tone. Here you can see one of my own breeding males, which if seen in sunlight actually looks olive green, and may bring to mind a DF Misty (cf. below).

A bit of history

It is not known for certain when dark factor birds originated in the Black-winged Lovebird, but several sources indicate that it originated in the Netherlands in the early or mid-1990’s. The Dark green colour mutation differs only slightly from the wild-coloured bird, which is why it may have actually existed for an even longer time, although without having been recognized.

For non-expert aviculturists, it is often the case that you have to have access to several birds before you can determine with complete certainty that it is the Dark green colour mutation. You can't as easily - as you, for example, know it from the Dark green colour mutation in the Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) - determine that it is a Dark green colour mutation by simply looking at the bird's blue upper tail coverts, which in the Dark green Peach-faced Lovebird are clearly dark blue, while they are light (sky)blue in the wild-coloured Peach-faced Lovebird. The Black-winged Lovebird does not have any blue upper tail coverts, as this area of the bird – like the rest of the body – is green.

When talking about the Olive green colour mutation, there is no doubt, however, that it clearly differs visibly from both the wild-coloured and the Dark green Black-winged Lovebird.

Dark green (D green) Black-winged Lovebird, female bird. Generally speaking, the bird appears darker throughout its green plumage, which does not vary in so many shades of green. The green colour can appear a little bluish and thus less warm in tone. Here you can see one of my own breeding females. I have not seen the above mentioned olive green tinge on the dark green females.

Heredity

The dark factor forms of the Black-winged Lovebird are - just like other colour mutations - not an expression of an independent species, but are the result of a change in the genetics of the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird. This genetic change results in a different phenotype (plumage appearance) which differs from the appearance of the wild-coloured one by mainly having a darker green, subsidiarily olive green, plumage instead of being - as in nature - mainly emerald green, in addition to that the changes are hereditary.

The dark factor forms of the Black-winged Lovebird are so-called dominant colour mutations, which means that they "override" the green colour of the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird. More precisely, the dark factor birds are incompletely dominant colour mutations, and birds with this heredity cannot be split for Dark green or Olive green (the dark factor cannot therefore be hidden in a bird's heredity (genotype) without being visible in the phenotype).

Dark green is referred to as single factor dark or "D green", and Olive green is referred to as double factor dark or "DD green". Since chromosomes occur in pairs, a bird cannot have more than two dark factors, as each chromosome is mutated once.

The inheritance of the darkness factor is linked to chromosomes other than the sex chromosomes, the so-called autosomes, and is referred to as autosomal inheritance in contrast to sex-linked inheritance, where the inheritance is linked to the bird's sex chromosomes.

The dark factor is not - as one might think - a higher content of eumelanin (the dark pigment) in the feather, but is a structural change of the feather in the form of a reduction in the "spongy zone" of the feather. The black melamine in the middle of the feather thus affects to a greater extent the reflection of the blue colours in the "spongy zone", which becomes darker, after which you get a Dark green bird. If the "spongy zone" becomes even smaller, the result will be an even darker bird, i.e. an Olive green. Since it is only the "spongy zone" in the bird's feathers that is affected by the mutation, the colour of the dark factor in the bird's beak, eye colour, feet and claws does not change, which means that the colour of the bird's feet and claws is the same as in the wild-coloured bird. The same applies to the red colour on the forehead and around the eyes of the male bird (which is not coloured with eumelamin, but with psittacin, which is why it is not affected).

As a result of the structural changes, especially in the Olive green mutation, the distance between the barbs and barbules of the individual feathers becomes greater, which means that an Olive green colour mutation appears with a more "coarse-grained" and looser plumage, which is not at all as close-fitting (smooth looking) and tight, as in the wild-coloured bird. For that reason, it is therefore not recommended to pair Olive green with Olive green, as it becomes even more visible in this constellation.

According to the usual inheritance rules for the dark factors, this trait is inherited as follows:

The dark factor can also be found in birds with blue plumage, such as can be seen in the blue colour mutation of the Masked Lovebird (Agapornis personatus), which when supplied with a single dark factor is designated Cobalt Blue (international name: "D blue") and with two dark factors is designated Mauve (international name: "DD blue").

Dark green birds of high quality can be used without reservation when breeding wild-coloured specimens, as the wild-coloured birds that come from a mating of Dark green with Dark green often can be more resistant and stronger. This constellation of two Dark green birds produces both wild-coloured, Dark green and Olive green chicks without affecting the wild-coloured bird. At the same time, the advantage of the dominant heredity is that the bird's genetic potential is always visible, in contrast to when working with the recessive colour mutations. The genetic background of any bird is therefore immediately visible based on the bird's appearance.

Brief about other colour mutations in Black-winged Lovebird

Colour mutations are constantly evolving, and this also applies to the Black-winged Lovebird. Here, some of the other colour mutations that have occurred in this species must be mentioned very briefly:

Misty

The so-called Misty (directly translated from English "misty" means hazy, foggy or blurred) colour mutation also originated in the Netherlands. It is characterized by the fact that the normal amount of eumelanin in the plumage is reduced by around 20 %, which is why they appear somewhat lighter green than the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird, whereby you can say that it is the diametrical opposite of the dark factor colour mutations.

The Misty colour mutation is available in both single factor and double factor and is also incompletely dominant, which means that there are no split birds and the inheritance is also autosomal.

Efforts should be made to breed only Misty colour mutations without dark factors, as only such birds show the Misty factor clearly. The Misty colour mutation appears as a faded Olive green plumage with a slight light brown tinge. This is especially clear when it comes to double factor Misty birds.

The wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird appears with an extensive range of greenish shades in its plumage, from light green to almost dark green, mind you, without the fact that these are birds with the darkness factor. It can therefore be difficult in many situations to determine the Misty colour mutation, and it will be a challenge for the new aviculturist to distinguish an SF Misty from a dark variant of the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird. It becomes almost impossible to determine birds that have been given the darkness factor. The easiest way to categorize DF Misty is if they are not mixed with other types of colour mutations.

Pale Fallow is not a dark colour mutation, but a light one, which originated with the German breeder Wilhelm Schoon as early as 1999. It is a fantastically beautiful colour mutation, which only a few aviculturists still have in their collection. Photo from the internet.

Fallow

The Fallow colour mutation is divided into two different types, namely:

Bronze Fallow, which is also inherited autosomal recessively compared to the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird. This colour mutation also occurred in the Netherlands in the mid-1990’s. The black feathers are almost brownish on this colour mutation and the male's red head colour is lighter.

Pale Fallow, which is a colour mutation that is inherited autosomal recessively compared to the wild-coloured Black-winged Lovebird. It originated with the German breeder Wilhelm Schoon already in 1999, and since the bird is almost completely yellowish with red eyes, it was thought that it was a Lutino, which was not the case. Originally, Wilhelm Schoon got this colour mutation after a wild-coloured pair, but unfortunately the bird died of an abscess the following year. In 2005, Wilhelm Schoon got another such yellowish male bird, which, together with another female bird, succeeded in making split birds by mating them with wild-coloured birds.

Both mutations are characterized by the red eye colour, and are a form of albinism (which can also be seen in the light colour of the feet and claws), however the bird is not white, but has a light green body colour due to a strong eumelamin reduction.

Lutino

It is said that a Lutino colour mutation has occurred in the Black-winged Lovebird in Portugal, which should therefore be a bird with the Ino factor. At the time of writing, I have no further information on this bird, but it is a given that the Black-winged Lovebird, like the other Lovebird species, has the potential for a Lutino form to arise. A few years ago, a Lutino bird should also have appeared in Belgium, but it died already after a few months.

There are also reports of recessive Yellow-pied colour mutations, just as there should also be - probably - modifications that have red throat feathers.