Abstract
Part/
Editor's Note: The authors wish
to remain anonymous so sent the
article through editor Dale Thompson.
If there are any questions
regarding either Part I or Part II,
they should be directed to Dale
Thompson at the AFA Home Office
address.
Since 1970 when the blue mutation
of the Pennant's Rosella first
appeared in West Germany, many
changes have developed. The first
breedings of this mutation resulted in
a color change where the normal
crimson red color on the chest, head
and back was replaced with a silver,
white coloration. As with any mutation,
through selective breeding over
several generations this mutation
improved in size and color. An April/
May 1981 AFA Watchbird article
explains the genetic probabilities of
this blue mutation.
In 1979, Josef Dexler, a West
German aviculturalist, acquired four
pairs of the blue mutation Pennants.
Each pair consisted of one blue bird
and one split-to-blue mate. In his first
breeding season with these birds,
Herr Dexler successfully reproduced
offspring from all four pairs. This
provided him with a good source of
birds for future line breeding.
Through a careful selection process,
Herr Dexler's second generation
breeding resulted in producing some
female offspring which contained a
blue colored back that replaced the
silver, white coloration found in
earlier generations.
These blue-backed females were
subsequently bred to split-to-blue
mates. This combination produced a
powder blue color which occurred in
12.5% of the time in either male or
female birds.
Although Herr Dexler normally
prefers to breed his mutations with a
split bird to ensure greater size, in
1986 he opted to breed a powder
blue male with a powder blue mate.
The following year this pair produced
an all powder blue bird which
had white wing feathers. In addition,
two other pairs of powder blue
females mated to split-to-blue males
produced several offspring that were
split-to-blue Pennant's Rosellas (normal
red coloration) but also had
white wing feathers. In 1988 three
more powder blue white-winged
Pennant's Rosellas were bred from
two pairs ofJosefDexler's birds.
With each generation, the powder
blue coloration on the back and
chest, and the white primary wing
feathers became more prominent. In
addition, small white patches
appeared on the head and rump
areas. Only future breedings of this
powder blue, white-winged mutation
will determine the genetic probabilities
and characteristics of this
mutation.
In addition to the blue Pennant's
Rosella mutation there are the yellow
and white mutations. The yellow
mutation is a recessive mutation, the
same as the blue mutation.
Part II
Genetics of the White-winged
Blue Pennant's Rosella
The powder blue and white wing
characters in Pennant's Rosellas are
very interesting to say the least. The
red Pennant's split to powder blue
which have green in their mature
plumage probably are also split to
white-wing.
An excellent mating would be the
Pennant's which are red-green split
to powder blue and white-wing with
the powder blue, white-wing Pennant's.
This should produce good
strong birds . The following are
expected results of such a cross.