Green cheek: mutation or hybrid??

[Littlemissbrandy]

Hello to everyone! I just got a bird from a pet store and the first woman said she believed it was male, but when I went back to purchase the bird the second woman said it was female. I was told that she is six years old and a green cheek, but there is no band on her leg saying she has been tested and she is so bright and has many colors so I was wondering if they even knew for sure that she was a green cheek! She is a very sweet bird and I know it doesn't make much difference what she is because the care of most conures is the same, but if someone with knowledge of the the breed could tell me if they think she just has mutations in her color or if she may be a hybrid I would appreciate it because I'm curious. Also any further information on green cheeks would be helpful! Thank you

 

[riddick07]

She looks like a yellow sided gcc If you want to know the sex for sure get her DNA tested. She may also pop an egg out at some point then you'll now for sure too

There are multiple mutations for gcc. Cinnamon, pineapple, yellow sided, turquoise and any combination of the those like cinnamon turquoise

 

[Sterling1113]

Yup, Riddick got it. looks like my Loki boy.


Pineapple conures sure are pretty, eh? I love looking at all the different mutations.

 

[MonicaMc]

Tori, you forgot pied, misty, dilute and I think there's grey and dark factor?


Littlemissbrandy, chances are, she's both! Perhaps not in the manner you may think, but she could be considered both a mutation as well as a hybrid.

First and foremost - she is most definitely an opaline (aka yellowsided) green cheek conure!

As far as the hybrid part.... well, there are different subspecies of green cheeks and I'm not sure if there are many breeders in the USA who have strived to keep pure subspecies. For that matter, I'm not sure if there are any pure green cheeks left in the USA today.



Green cheeks are most often hybridized with maroon bellied conures and black capped conures. It doesn't appear if your bird has been hybridized with any bird outside of green cheeks. Who knows though! Green cheeks and maroon bellieds do share a common trait, even out in the wild!




PS, it's species, not breed!

 

[Littlemissbrandy]

Well thank you all for your input! I'm new to this so learning anything about her is great

 

[riddick07]

Monica there is one called Moon Cheek(?). Anyway I know it has Moon in the name that I absolutely love. It kind of looks like a lovebird instead of a green cheek

 

[MonicaMc]

Green-Cheeked Conure mutation colors prediction tables by The Feather Tree/ Steve Garvin

"Moon cheek"

American Dilute, Cinnamon, Turquoise, Opaline

Pretty!



Kind of like an opaline cinnamon is called a pineapple. Just a nickname!




LittleMissBrandy, usually the way to tell a green cheek from a hybrid is through the head and tail feathers. Some hybrids can actually look very similar to a non-cross-species bird, too. She (if she is in fact a female! you can do DNA sexing to find out for sure!) is pretty!