he Parrot Society issued a booklet on mutations recently, there are also many advertisements in the magazine for mutations of all species, no breed would seem to have escaped the urge of our members to juggle the genes and produce whole collections of multi-hued birds.
T
My main interest over the years has been the Australian species in particular grass parakeet, it is my firm opinion that their natural colours cannot be improved upon. A Splendid cock for example has colours direct from an artist’s palette, I do not consider any Splendid mutation can better the normal colours, a white- breasted Splendid belies its name. A normal Bourke has on close inspection an array of subtle colours that I consider out classes the Rosa Bourke’s garish appearance.
I have been able to visit Australia over the years and I have seen the birds in their natural habitat, because the various breeds have their own geographical zones there are no obvious signs of cross breeding. There was a flock of several hundred Corella Cockatoos around one of our campsites and amongst them two Galahs that were part of the flock were they the result of mixed breeding? No! Ray Ackroyd our guide had an explanation. Corellas often evict the previous occupants and lay their eggs in the nest and rear a family, in this case he suggested two of the Galah’s eggs had not been destroyed but hatched with their clutch and been accepted as their own chicks.
42 BIRD SCENE
ARTICLE BY: DAVID COOMBES
MUTAT V
NORM
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