Colours & Mutations (2)

What colour is your budgie ?

• Grey Factor

If a budgie has a grey factor, the colour grey will dominate the underlying colour. Yellow-based budgies will be green-grey and white-based budgies will be grey-coloured. (to find out what yellow-based and white-based means, check my last post)

Photo on the right: a white-based budgie with grey factor

• Violet Factor

The violet factor is also a colour-adding factor, but not as strong as
the grey factor. The violet factor is hard to detect, especially on yellow-based budgies.
If you look closely though, you may see a violet tinge on the body feathers around the feet and vent (budgie's poophole). True violet colour only shows up in sky blue budgies with one dark factor (cobalt blue budgies). If they carry the violet factor, they will also have a violet tinge in the body feathers near the feet.

photo: a cobalt blue budgie with violet factor or double factor (dark factor + violet factor) in sky blue budgie

• Dilution (colour is washed out)
  

In addition to dark factor, budgies can also have some degree of dilution. There are four types of dilution:

1. greywing budgies have grey markings on their head and wings (normal budgies have black markings there) + the body feather colour is about 50% diluted.
   
2. Full-body-colour greywing budgies have the same markings as normal greywing budgies, but their body feathers have a brighter colour.
3. Clearwing budgies have very light or no markings at all on their head and wings, and the body feathers are brighter.
4. Dilute budgies are washed out from head to toe. The head and wing markings are barely visible and the body colour is 80% diluted.
   

Some pictures to make it more simple ;)













from left to right: greywing, full-body-colour greywing, clearwing and dilute

More details and information: budgie/parakeet colors and mutation guide