cockatiels

[badgirl]

how can you tell the sex of a cockatiel

[dinsdale]

Pieds and Lutino Whitefaces "Can not be visually sexed. If a Pied cockatiel has dark tail feathers, it may be possible to tell by the barring or lack of barring on the tail feathers."

Lutinos --Lutinos are all yellow birds with orange cheek patches, and  not even a speck of gray on their feathers or body. Females have bright yellow spots under their wing and very light yellow bars on their tails. Males lack these markings.

Normal Grays --Females have  gray faces and crests, dull orange cheek patches and a tint of yellow around their forehead, eyes and beaks. Females also have yellow spots on the underside of their wing feathers. The bar pattern on their tails are yellow and gray. Males  have bright orange cheek patches and bright yellow faces. Their crests are all yellow, tipped with gray.

Pearls --Pearls are gray, brownish or yellow, birds with speckled white markings that look like pearls. Male birds will lose their pearl markings, usually after their first molt. After the first molt males will have yellow or white faces. Female birds will have faces that are gray or brownish.

Mutations are the result of inbreeding various colored cockatiels. Mutations which produce gray/brown birds with white or yellow markings include Whiteface, Pastel Face,Yellow Cheek, Silver,Fallow Cinnamon, etc . Females have gray or brown faces, spots under their wing feathers, and a bar pattern on their tails. Females will also have lighter cheek patches. Males will have white or yellow faces and crests. Males will not have the spots and bar patterns that females have.