The Whiteface Cockatiel

For many Cockatiel enthusiasts around Australia, one of the mutations which holds the greatest fascination is the Whiteface. The hen is a striking grey colour all over with only the slightest wash of white around the face. She also has white tail barring and also white wing bars. The cock on the other hand (as pictured here) is a stunning looking bird with a grey body and sporting a pure white face and neck. He also has black tail feathers and a crest tipped with white. The darker the grey, the more stunning the bird looks.

The Whiteface mutation is an autosomal recessive mutation. That means to produce a Whiteface baby, both parents must carry the Whiteface gene. Whiteface birds have the inability to produce tones of yellow and orange. This makes identification of all Whiteface babies in the nest easy as all Whiteface chicks have white down when hatched as opposed to the normal yellow down that all other mutations produce.

The cere, feet and toe-nails are also charcoal coloured and their eyes are dark brown. If they were Whiteface Cinnamons they would have plum eyes and if they were Whiteface Lutinos (Albinos) they would have red eyes.

The Whiteface cockatiel can be combined with most other colour mutations as well as feather patterns. This allows us to produce such wonderful birds as the Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl Pied and the Whiteface Pastel Silver Pearl etc.

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