FEATURE
their attentions to the easier challenges of mutation Pennants or handrearing African Grey Parrots. A number of both adult cocks and adult pairs seem to change hands all too regularly, with no breeding successes, some of these birds being unwanted birds, useless for breeding, from the Continent. Making up unrelated, first year young pairs from reliable breeders being the only way ahead with this species. Most birds in the UK show the basic plumage of the nominate race, with the blue cheek patches of the sub species Hilli. Birds with a blue tone to the body as seen in Hilli, are however rare. Hens will often leave the nest with some red or yellow feathering interspersed amongst the black of the head, particularly just above the beak, this usually reduces with age and is again also seen in the wild population.
STANLEY ROSELLA Brown’s Rosella
(Platycercus Icterotis Icterotis) Not as popular or commonly bred as it once was, Stanley Rosellas are still widely if thinly bred. The quality of birds for sale is often patchy and care should be taken to obtain the best unrelated birds that you can. A tiny number of Australian Parakeet breeders are making attempts to re-establish through selective breeding, the Red Backed sub species Xanthogenys. These beautiful birds have paler yellow cheeks than the nominate birds, red extending fully down the back to the rump, dark blue tails and a bluey green base colour when compared with the nominate Green Backed birds. It may be that birds of the true Red Backed sub species exist on the
BIRD SCENE 43
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