A breeder in Michigan has produced six Peachfaced Lovebirds with unusual color markings. A few pictures follow. A complete article by Doug Bedwell will be published in an upcoming Agapornis World. See the end for comments by Doug.
"These are the parents. The father is on the left. His peachface extends slightly further down the breast and the breast is slightly lighter normal. The mother is on the right. She is a single dark factor. I don't know the breeding behind either bird. I rescued them and all I found out was the name of the breeder. I called her and she said she didn't know, but that she always bred for as much color as possible. She never had any like this mutation.
As a point of interest, this hen talks. She started talking at about a year and a half old after raising 2 clutches. She says about 15 phrases."
Becky
2/20/98
"The first picture is a back view of an eleven month old mutation. The entire head is "hunter orange", the body is florescent lime green, the wings are slightly darker with a faint lacey look and black flights, the tail is the same as the body with an orange band and pale yellow tip. There isn't any blue on the bird."
Becky
"This is the same bird as in the previous pictures. It just finished the molt and is exactly 1 year old in the picture. "
"*NOT* a hybrid. No chance. Colors are crisp, clean, well-defined,
and consistent. I've written an extensive article on these guys that
should be in the next issue of Ag. World. I got to see the birds at
the Appleton show this weekend as well, and they are MUCH more
beautiful in person than in photos. I have the same photos as Paul,
and they do not do justice to the subtleties of the coloration. I
have not been so struck by a color since I first saw the Danish
Violet. I do not exaggerate, they are jaw-dropping. Brad Webb was
able to take a number of photos of the adult and the juvenile with a
good quality camera both outdoors in natural light and indoors with a
flash, so hopefully we will have some better photos of them soon.
It is still far from certain that this mutation can be established
and propogated through multiple generations, and there is still a lot
of work to do. However, right now it's just enormously exciting.
I've attached below a copy of the article that I sent to Roland for
the Journal, but I need to update it now that I've seen the birds up
close. There are a couple of corrections, and I need to add some
important details to the description. Also, it has now been
determined that all six of the visual birds are hens.
Your excited friend,
Doug Bedwell"
6/29/98
Becky now has a web site with additional pictures and comments.