The Budgies Gene Fundamentals Collection will illustrate the complete budgie variant gene species and examples. The basic principles of budgie genes will pave the way for the introduction of budgies variant genes, which is convenient for later reading. This collection has compiled 38 mutant genes of budgies, and explanations of specialized vocabulary will be attached at the end of the article.
01 Violet budgie appearance
Any bird that carries the violet gene will be affected by the gene, causing changes in the color of the feathers. The degree of color change in the feathers depends on whether the parrot carries a single or dual mutated gene, and whether the parrot contains dark or blue mutations, which can produce a total of 18 different combinations. However, only three of these colors can meet the standard color requirements of the violet gene.
(left) violet; (Right) Cobalt blue
The World Budgies Association, using the Pantone color card, has developed a set of feather color standards for budgies body color. These standards include blue, violet, and other genetic color comparisons.
From top to bottom, sky blue, cobalt blue, mov blue, violet
Green series
- Bright green budgies with a single-gene violet gene are similar in color to dark green tiger skin, but without the blurred ribbing on dark green tiger feathers. Violet genes are superimposed on bright green budgies, and the feather effect produces a silky dark green like satin. The tail is lighter in color than the navy blue of the dark green budgie and more like the tail of a bright green budgie, especially at the end of the tail feathers. Bright green budgies with violet genes lack the dark blue color on the flight feathers of dark green budgies.
(2nd from left) One-factor violet gene bright green budgie; (2nd from right) Two-factor violet gene bright green budgie, fish scale species
- A dark green budgie with a single-factor violet gene that is between dark green and dark gray in color.
(2nd from left) One-factor violet gene dark green budgie; (2nd from right) Two-factor violet gene budgie dark green, gray-winged species
- Olive green (Olive) budgies with single-factor violet genes are similar to ordinary olive green budgies.
(2nd from left) One-factor violet gene olive green budgie, opal species; (2nd from right) Two-factor violet gene olive green, fish scale species
Bright green budgies, dark green budgies, and olive green budgies with two-factor violet genes should all be darker than single-factor ones, but there is no reliable evidence or reports to confirm this.
Blue
- Sky-blue budgies with a single-factor violet gene have body colors ranging from dark blue to medium depth cobalt blue. Most one-factor violet gene sky blue budgies look more like a light cobalt blue. We can distinguish parrots with this gene from flight feathers and tails, the navy blue coat color of the cobalt blue budgie's tail runs through the entire tail feathers, and the sky blue budgie with violet genes has tail feathers showing turquoise green at the end. The flight feathers of cobalt-blue budgies are dark blue, while the flight feathers of sky-blue budgies with violet genes give off a smooth turquoise green glow, which is darker than the flight feathers of pure sky-blue budgies.
*Purple is very difficult to use similar to shoot real results, and the color of the Morff Blue single-factor violet gene budgie may be very different from the real one
- The cobalt-blue budgie with the single-factor violet gene, visually what we call "violet", is a relatively bright violet color, which is very good-looking.
- The Moff Blue Budgie with a single-factor violet gene is very similar to the common Moff Blue Budgies, and when the two are compared together, you can see a slight difference, especially the position of the waist color (rump).
- Sky-blue budgies with two-factor violet genes are similar in color to cobalt-blue budgies with single-factor violet genes, but the violet color is more intense and at the same time, this is also the standard "violet color". Their tail feathers have pale blue or turquoise green at the ends, while the univariate violet cobalt blue budgie has deep blue-purple tail feathers.
- The cobalt-blue budgie with a bigenic violet color is very similar in appearance to the single-gene violet cobalt-blue parrot, but the violet is darker and visually looks like a standard violet budgies.
- The Moff Blue Budgies with a double gene violet color are thought to be not much different in color from the Moff Blue with a single gene violet.
violet
Therefore, the standard violet color we talk about in our mouth is only three types: single-factor violet gene cobalt blue budgie, bigene violet gene Moff blue budgie, and two-factor violet gene cobalt blue budgie.
02 Violet budgie history
In Sydney, Australia, in 1934, A Burton bred violet-genetically tested budgies, and in the same year, Mr. Harold Pier exhibited the first violet-genetic budgies in an exhibition.
purple
In Europe, the first mention of budgies with purple feathers in history was in Copenhagen in 1935 with birds from Caf Enehjelm. In his Budgerigar Bulletin, he mentions that he has bred a cobalt-blue budgie, "but I would call it violet." In a later article, he detailed that he had a violet bird, first bred in Germany in the 2020s, when the bird was a little different from the common cobalt-blue budgie, but slowly faded its purple feathers as it grew up. And his first one, the true violet budgie, was bred with a dark green male bird with a blue gene carrier from a friend, paired with a cobalt blue female bird.
(left) cobalt blue; (Right) Purple
He also mentioned that the dark green male bird, which carries the blue gene, is "covered with thick blue (cobalt blue) feathers."
very heavily suffused with blue（cobalt）
It is speculated that it should be a bright green budgie with a single-factor violet gene and carrying a blue recessive gene. He used the pair of parent birds to breed quite a few violet chicks.
Both Britain in 1924 and Australia in 1932 had a species known as "Royal Blues", but those were not violet budgies. In Britain, the highly respected budgie breeder, C H Rogars, wrote in 1937 that the first true violet parrot appeared at the Cambridge Diploma Show that year, and that violet hen bird was exhibited by Stevenson and Tucker. They also have eight other parrots of the same color, so violet parrots must have been bred in the early years.
Bright green budgies with violet genes are similar in appearance to dark green budgies. According to the data, many bright green budgies with violet genes were bred in various places during the 20s of the 20th century. They are difficult to distinguish in appearance and only appear different when paired with a blue bird. Therefore, it was only after blue birds slowly became common, around the 30s of the 20th century, that the violet gene was discovered.
03 Violet budgie gene
The violet gene is incompletely dominant, also known as semi-dominant inheritance. That is, there are three phenotypes, with violet alleles with zero factor (wild type), single factor (heterozygous), and double factor (homozygous). Heterozygous violet parrots have a color between wild-type and homozygous.
As long as it is a budgie with a violet gene, its appearance will change a little, so a parrot without any changes in shade on its appearance must be free of the violet gene (it is impossible to carry the gene). Heterozygous budgies with violet genes, such as green or blue birds with single-factor violet genes, can refer to the recessive genetic rules.
The violet gene acts on autosomes, but it has not yet been determined whether it is associated with other genes. In the past, it was thought that the violet gene and the blue and dark genes were linkage genes, but now this conclusion is no longer certain. The surprising breeding records in the past should be caused by misjudgment of the single and double genes of the parent birds.
There was a time when it was thought that the dual-gene violet was a lethal gene, but now this conclusion has been overturned, and many breeders have successfully bred dual-gene violet budgies.
Source:
- Budgerigar colour genetics, wikipedia
- Violet budgie mutation, wikipedia
- Violet green budgies, cutelittlebirdiesaviary
- Talkbudgies.com