The Pied Cockatiel

This popular mutation is freely available throughout Australia today. The definition of Pied is the alteration or disruption of the normal colouration in random areas as opposed to the pattern alteration of scalloping that is pearling. Pearling affects most of the body feathers. A Pied bird might only have one toe-nail not appearing the usual colour or perhaps one or two feathers a different colour.

Pied is an Autosomal Recessive mutation. That means that both parents must carry Pied for a Pied baby to be produced. It is also thought to be partially dominant as some birds that are split to Pied will show a spot or some slight pied marking.


The ideal Pied should have around 75% yellow or white feathers and the remaining 25% either light or dark grey or the colour of the mutation. e.g. Cinnamon or Platinum.

Sexing Pieds is very hard by looks alone. Both Cocks and Hens look the same and looking under the wings to check the dots is a waste of time. Patience is the best advice in this case. Just watch the bird for signs of what sex it is.

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