Very green B&G at the zoo

[AndrewH]

I was at the Cincinnati zoo today. Lots of great exhibits! They had a BTM and a B&G in their bird exhibit. Nice looking birds.

Also, in their tropical forest exhibit, they had another B&G, but this bird was colored differently than any B&G I've seen. Instead of an emerald green crown, the green went all they way down the back of his neck AND the centers of his coverlet feathers were emerald green. tail feathers, chest, flights, throat were all normal. I was maybe 12 inches from the bird, so I had a good view.

Is it just me? Has anyone ever seen a B&G with this coloration? ...and yes, it's placard said it was a B&G, not a hybrid.

 

[triordan]

i was at the zoo in Columbia SC this weekend and saw a hyacinth for the 1st time, never seen a B&G like you described

 

[Bobby34231]

Did it look anything like this?...........

 

[AndrewH]

Bobby, yes. That is very close. Just variation?

 

[Bobby34231]

Ok, thats a Hybrid, a Miligold....Military X Blue & Gold, I've seen some that look much more like a B&G with a black throat and alot of green down the back, this was about the best pic that I could copy and paste from the internet tho.......

 

[AndrewH]

The miligolds I've seen had more random looking coloration, but that makes sense. I wonder if the zoo knows and chooses to just label the bird a blue and gold?