'Tiel care Chapter 1 - Introduction to cockatiels

The not-so humble cockatiel

The cockatiel, (Nymphacus Hollandacus) is an small Australian parrot related very closely to the cockatoo, and, like the cockatoo, has many characteristics that set them apart from other parrots. Both of these species are the only parrots with a crest that shows their emotions, powder down, and a beak with three prongs instead of two. They also tend to be very curious, very cuddly, very energetic, very loving, very good at whistling, and not very good at talking. If you are looking for a bird that is a status symbol, good at talking, or can sit happily in a cage without interaction with you, the cockatiel is not for you. But those aren't good things to look for in a bird anyway! If, however, you are looking for a bird who is a great companion, likes to cuddle, is good with children and people they aren't familar with, will bond with more than just one person in a family, is playful, is relatively easy to care for, and is less likely to develop problems with aggression and self-mutilation, then the cockatiel is a great bird to choose.

Due to the relative ease in caring for a cockatiel when compared to larger parrots, their easy-going nature, and the low price tag, many consider cockatiel to be starter birds, and yes, they do make wonderful first birds or birds for a family with kids. But there is more to a 'tiel then just that. There is so much personality in those little bodies that many people miss out on because they are thought to be just a starter bird, or even worse, a throw-away bird. If you aren't willing to spend your money and time giving a cockatiel the care it needs and deserves, yearly vet check-ups and treatment when sick, please do not get a cockatiel! Too many of these tiny, wonderful lives are ruined because people don't want to spend money and time on a bird that cost them so little. Please do not do this! A cockatiel is still a life, that feels and wants and needs. Same thing applies to budgies. But if you are willing to care for a cockatiel properly, these little birds are wonderful to share your homes with.

I also want to state that although I said cockatiels are easy to care for, their care would only be considered easy when compared to a larger parrot. They still need daily attention and love, good exercise, proper hygiene, a clean, healthy environment, and a healthy diet that does involve fresh vegetables and cooked items. But if you are willing to care for them, they will pay you back with their love, intelligence, and often highly amusing antics.

Physical description

General description: Cockatiels are tall, streamlined birds that are very strong flyers. Their torso is tall, with short stubby legs and feet that have two toes pointing forward and two pointing backwards (all parrots have this type of foot). Their tail is very long and their face is slightly rounded. Their eyes are small and usually black, although some mutations have brownish eyes, called a red eye. Their beaks are hooked, blunt when compared to other parrots, have three prongs, one on the top, two on the bottom, and are some shade of gray or pink. Cockatiels are a dimorphic species, meaning that the male and the female of this species look slightly different. Generally, they have a yellow face and head, with the female's face being a pale yellow with more gray, and the male's face and crest being bright yellow. Right next to their ear, the cockatiel has a pair of rounded patches on their cheek, usually bright orange in color. Their body, wing, and tail feathers are usually gray, with white along the main bone in their wings and two of their tail feathers being yellow. The female also has three white dots underneath her primary flight feathers and yellow and gray "barring" on her two main tail feathers. However, this is just the normal gray cockatiel and there are several mutations (or simply different color types) or this cockatiel.
Size: Cockatiels are around 14" tall, with a 7" body and 7" tail, and then 3" of a crest when fully raised. They have a very wide wingspan, usually with the entire wingspan being about as long as they are tall, including their tail. A healthy cockatiel usually weighs between 75 and 120g. Of course, there will always be some variation in size, with some 'tiels being very tall, some very short, some naturally skinny without being underweight, some naturally bulky without being overweight. See the chapter on health for more information about a healthy weight.

Cockatiel muations:

Normal grey aka wild-type:
Andrew and Maria modeling the normal grey look.
The normal gray cockatiel is the most common coloration of the cockatiel, and the type that is found in the wild. Their general description can be found above. This is the most dominant mutation, which means all cockatiels with the normal grey gene will look like a normal grey, which the only exception being that occassionally a normal grey that carries the pied gene will show some yellow markings around the neck sometimes yellow mottling on the chest. This is called "Split", but it's not that noticeable.
Punky showing off her yellow markings

Pied:
There are three main types of a pied cockatiel: Light pied, Heavy pied, and Clear pied.
The light pied looks like a normal gray but has patches of yellow or white instead of gray in a few spots on his or her body.
The heavy pied has almost as much yellow or white as gray.
And the clear pied is almost identical to a lutino cockatiel, except there may be a few gray feathers here and there, and the eyes, beak, and feet are a normal color.
Apollo, Billy, and Tammy: three light pied "triplets"

Pearled:
The pearled cockatiel has a beautiful pattern of yellow or white "pearling" or "scaling" on the backs of their wings. Other than that, they are indentical to a normal gray. Male pearled cockatiels loose most or all of this pattern at their first adult molt.
A pearl hen with full pearling

Lutino:
The lutino cockatiel has no gray pigmentation, and therefor the entire bird is white and pale yellow. This bird also has redish eyes, a pink beak, and pink feet.
Diana, a lutino pearl hen

Whiteface:
The whiteface cockatiel is essentially a grayscale cockatiel. This cockatiel looks like the normal gray except that this cockatiel lacks all shades of yellow, and therefore has white in place of the yellow face, orange cheek patches, and yellow tail. The barring on the female is also gray and white instead or gray and yellow.
Iceman showing off his lovely whiteface pied looks

Albino:
The albino cockatiel is not a true albino, but actually the combination of the lutino mutation and the whiteface mutation. Since cockatiels only make two pigments, yellow and gray, and these two mutations remove both pigments, the albino cockatiel is completely white, with redish eyes, a pink beak, and pink feet.

Cinnamon:
The cinnamon cockatiel looks like a normal gray in all ways but one: all shades of gray are lighter in shade and tinted slightly redish.

Fallow:
A fallow cockatiel looks very similar to a cinnamin cockatiel, but the "cinnamin" color is slightly paler. The fallow cockatiel also has redish eyes, a pink beak, and pink feet.
Autumn with her fallow color

Silver:
The silver mutation comes in two types: reccessive and dominant. The only real difference between the two is that the Recessive has redish eyes, while the dominant has the usual black, although sometimes the dominant silver can be a more pale silver color. Recessive silver happens when only one gene carries the silver coloration, dominant is when both gene carry this coloration. Both types or silver cockatiels are a bird with a more pale gray color then a normal gray, a pink beak, and pink feet.

Rare mutations
Olive aka Emerald or Suffused Yellow: The Olive cockatiel is said to be a pale green cockatiel, but cockatiel are unable to create the pigment that creates the color green. This cockatiel has a layer of yellow over the gray, causing him or her to look slightly greenish.
Yellow-cheek: The only difference between a yellow-cheek and a normal gray cockatiel is that the cheek patch in a yellow-cheek is a pale yellow-orange color instead of bright orange.
Pastel: The only difference between a pastel and a normal gray cockatiel is that all shades of yellow and gray are slightly lightened and that the cheek patch in a pastel is the same pale yellow-orange as a yellow-cheek cockatiel.

With the exception of grey, any of these mutations can be combined in any one cockatiel, with Autumn for an example, who is fallow-pearl-pied. More than a double mutation is rare, however. I personally have never heard of more than a quadruple mutation. There are some limitations, however, such as fallow and cinnamon or olive and whitefaced. More information.

Note: Andrew, Maria, Tammy, Jesse, Autumn, Billy, Apollo, and Diana are all my birds, Punky, Iceman, Buddy, and Tapestry belong to Nikki and their pictures are used with permission. Do you have a picture of a mutation I do not have a picture for? Please send it to me!

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