Parakeet color

Parakeet color is what makes your pet stand out of the crowd. I believe that most of the times someone goes to buy or adopt a little parakeet his decision is based on the bird's color. Now, everyone has a favorite color when it comes to clothes, shoes, accessories... But do you have a favorite parakeet color?

Why do I say the decision is based upon a color? Because, they are all so equally cute. And as long as all of them are healthy, you are probably just going to choose the one with your favorite color.

"Special kind of color" - parakeet color...?

Why do I make a difference between your favorite color and a favorite parakeet color? Well, I see myself and my friends and I can tell you - there is a difference.

Here is an example. My favorite parakeet color for almost anything would be blue. Have I ever had a blue parakeet? The answer is no. Because my favorite parakeet color is green.

I have had several budgie parakeets and they were all green. Still, all of them looked completely different with all those shades and color-combinations.

You can hardly find two budgie parakeets of exactly the same shade.

Basic "model"

The basic color of a budgie parakeet is light green and yellow. That is how he looks in nature.

In general, the head is yellow. The back of the head, back and the wings have yellow/black stripes. Neck is yellow and the cheeks have dark purple patches, one each. On the neck there are six little dots. Lower body is green and the tail is green-blue with yellow stripes.

Some of the parakeets are blue/white or white (albino). All the other colors are created by breeding them in captivity.

Some breeders are even competing between themselves in creating a new shade. That can be a hard job.

What colors can you find?

Here is a short overview of available colors. Basically you can find most colors in three shades, one being the darkest, one less dark and one light. Not to forget the ?washed out? colors where the black stripes are actually gray and the color of the body is bright. Than add parakeets that do not have a lot of stripes, and last but not least, the ones without stripes. You can only imagine all the combination.

I will not try to explain all the details of the colors nor bother you with all ?official? color names. I do not think you will need all the breeding and color combining details as a small pet parakeet owner. But I do want to give you all information you may need before you go out to get a parakeet. 

So, in case you still do not have a favorite parakeet color and you want to consider all the options before you get this wonderful animal - here is a list of colors: 

• light green
• dark green
• olive green
• light blue
• cobalt blue
• mauve blue (grayish)
• gray
• green grayish
• violet variety
• anthracite has black body and black (instead of purple) cheek patches
• cinnamon has brown (instead of black) markings on wing feathers
• pied variety mostly has second color markings on the belly
• (any) lighter body color with gray wings
• bright body color with very light stripe color
• washed out body and stripe color
• fallow has cinnamon markings, bright body and red eyes
• yellow face parakeet (body and stripes of usual color)
• black face, basically looks all stripey
• albino, which is white with red eyes
• lutino, which is yellow with red eyes
• cinnamon combined with one of the two above
• yellow with black eyes
• spangle has the opposite wing color ? not black feathers with white lines but white feathers with thin black lines
• parakeets that have one color on the left and the other on the right side of the body
• there are even crested parakeets
• at the end - almost all possible combination of the colors above