Pied
In pieds there is a 100% reduction of eumelanin in some feathers or feather fields. The result is that at these areas no longer excist a blue reflection. As a result only the yellow color remains visible. The size of these fields may vary over time. Pied has the ability to intensify the yellow color. There are 4 different forms.
Dominant pied
Recessive pied
Goldcheck
Mottle
Cinnamon
Cinnamon
This mutant has not fully oxidized eumelanin. Therefore it looks brown instead of black. This results in a brown green bird with blue gray outer wings. The beak is gray blue with a darkish gray tip. The legs are pinkish gray with gray nails. The young Cinnamon is born with red eyes that become dark very quickly. However, when a light source (flashlight) is pointed to their eyes, the wine-red eyes can be noticed until a few months after hatching. The down of the young is gray. The inheritance is sex-linked recessive. An additional feature is the light sensitivity. Cinnamons who are daily exposed to sunlight are lighter in color. During the moult, it can express itself as a stained feather dress.
Dominant pied
In this form we always see the normal eye. This means an orange-red iris. It is not clear whether there is a difference between EF and DF birds. The place of pied formation is typical.
On the neck, this can vary from one small spot to an inverted T.
The jabot.
The outer wing feathers.
The tail.
Around and / or between the legs.
The legs.
Any place or field appears to vary in size independently of each other or even may be absent.
Recessive pied
This kind of pied has a pleïotropic effect. I.e. that there are other effects besides the pied formation. This mutation removes the red colouring of the iris allowing the eyes to be darker. This dark coloration is variable and seems to be proportional to the degree of pied formation. This mutation has also an Anti-dimorphic effect in other species. Males who distinguish themself from a female by the feather dress, look suddenly like a female. With Kakariki, there is no distinction in the feathers, so in this case, this property does not express itself. The extent of pied formation is generally higher than the dominant form.
Mottle
This is an appearance which is only rarely found in Europe. In Australia it is fairly common. They are born normal but after a few consecutive moults they become more and more pied. Research has shown that this mutation is probably spread over several genes, and on different chromosomes. Therefore it is difficult to establish. The eyes are the same as in normals..
This form usually occurs in Fallows. There is a green spot at the nape that seems unaffected by the mutation which determines the rest of the feathers. Below a Cinnamon pied with this abnormality.
Fallow
Until now there are 4 types of Fallow in parrots: The Bronze Fallow, Pale Fallow, Dun Fallow and Ashens Fallow. There is still no clear definition how to distinguish those types. What is certain is that each type has red eyes and a certain reduction of eumelanin. All types have an autosomal recessive inheritance and eumelanin has a different color in each type.
Bronze Fallow = eumelanin is brown, eyes are Burgundy red with vissible iris; allele of the a-locus, this means that a mating with the NSL Ino (a locus) results in an intermediate form.
Pale Fallow = eumelanin is light brown, eyes are bright red transparent without an iris.
Dun Fallow = greyish eumelanin; eyes are not known with certainty, probably it is the equivalent of the Scottish Fallow Budgerigar . This one had plum red eyes without an iris.
Ashens Fallow = light eumelanin, this mutation is only found in the Cockatiels.
The Fallow Kakariki are being observed in various forms, ranging from dark to light. It is beyond doubt that they all seem to share the same red eyes. The darkest form appears on the back the most like a Cinnamon. Here we can think of the brown eumelanin that belongs to a Bronze Fallow. There is also the unaltered iris, which again points in the direction of a Bronze Fallow. But how than to explain the great variation in color, especially on the back? In the wild type, we already have seen a subtle variation in color. Maybe tis is a possible explanation. The fact that all types share the same red eyes with iris, it seems that it involves the same gene. Then what are those mysterious green spots that some Fallows share. Are there still 2 Fallow mutations, but all of the same locus?
Then there are combinations with Cinnamon. The Lutino's in my line appear to be all Cinnamon Fallow combinations. Some of them display sometimes light brown feathers.
Mottle
Fallow
Kakariki Colour Mutations
Introduction
Previously, we have seen that the colors of the wildtype Kakariki are built up by the 3 elements of colour namely, eumelanin, psittacin and the featherstructure (blue reflection). Besides a few exceptions, each mutation only affects one of the elements. The mutations we already know so far in Kakariki are melanin mutations. These are:
Cinnamon
Fallow
Pied
Mottle
A possible Dark eyed clear (Transmutation)
Goldcheck
This is actually a combination of dominant and recessive pied. Usually these birds can have a single green spot, but they can go up to 100% pied (yellow). From Budgies and Agapornis it is known that SF dominant pied recessive pied also can lead to a 100% yellow bird . It is not known whether this also applies to Kakariki. What is likely to cause confusion is that when a Gold Check is paired to a pure wildtype, all youngsters are pied. This can lead to the impression that the Gold Check is only a dominant pied which it isn't . All of the youngsters have normal eyes. In other words, they are SF dominant pied birds that are split to recessive pied.
Transmutations
Transmutations are mutations which are transfered from one specie to another. Today most mutations of the Red Crowned are also in the Yellow Crowned. Thus we see Cinnamon and pied in both species. Very occasionally a Fallow. There is also the Dark-eyed Yellow Yellow-Crown . It is still unclear what kind of mutation it concerns. It is possible that this is the equivalent of the so-called black-eyed Yellow or Dark Eyed Clear in Agapornis. It has a recessive inheritance but has nothing to do with pied. I do not know whether this mutation is transferred to the Red Crowned. In this case it can easily be seen for a Gold Check. A new mutation in the Yellow Forehead is probably the Opaline. A number of important properties of these mutation are present in this bird. These are: white down, dark eyes, extra yellow feathers in a shifting effect in the direction of the tail, the legs are not fully colored. It is not yet known how this appearance inherits.
Source: Het Parkietenforum