Ever seen a Princess Parrot like this?

NEED AN EXPERT: rare colouration/princess parrot

Hi, I have used google to search around for similar colour types but cannot find anything even similar. Anyone here have any information for me? I am talking about its colour, why does mine have such rare shades of red. Is this a one of a kind princess parrot? If so how can i take advantage of this? Also, will it grow out of these red feathers?

These birds are little documented from what i can see and i would appreciate some real-time input.

Kthankx, Jim from Australia.

ps: have a look at my album for more shots of *kush* the bird pooping and posing

I just put "princess parrot" into yahoo search and found info on them. Very pretty bird!
also has these names: Princess Parrots aka Princess of Wales, Queen Alexandra Parrot, Spinifex Parrot, Yellow Princess Parrots

stunning colors, first one I have ever seen

Have defiantly never seen one like that before. Theres alot of standard green/ red ones in my backyard

How pretty, first time I have seen one too

Wow. Beautiful colors. I've never seen a parrot like this.

It looks pied. There are several mutations~ Dark Factor, Pied, Violet and Cobalt.
The feathers should not change. Not sure on genetics and mutations, or how they work with Princess Parrots, but usually mutations are just that. There is no way to "take advantage". If you were to breed it with another pied there could most likely be health issues. You would breed it back to a normal and go from there, I am almost certain.

keepsmiling said:

It looks pied. There are several mutations~ Dark Factor, Pied, Violet and Cobalt.
The feathers should not change. Not sure on genetics and mutations, or how they work with Princess Parrots, but usually mutations are just that. There is no way to "take advantage". If you were to breed it with another pied there could most likely be health issues. You would breed it back to a normal and go from there, I am almost certain.

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Thank you, & i was not planing to cross breed (didnt even know thats possible)
This is the type of answer i was looking for! once again thanks & have a nice day

keepsmiling is talking about breeding your princess to another princess mutation. This is not hybridization/crossbreeding, although that is possible to. Your princess parrot is not a mutation.

The color of your princess parrot is known as "red suffusion" - which is usually an indication of health problems. It is *not* a normal color and I urge you to please take him/her to an avian vet for a full blood panel.

Interesting Monica. Here is a discussion where someone says they are getting at least one with each clutch, and another points out there may be concerns that warrant a vet visit. The person with the birds does say it goes away after the first molt.
Pied Princess ????

Keepsmiling, I guess a good question then is "Has this bird always been this color?".

If it is red suffusion, has the bird been to an avian vet to check out it's health? Sometimes, avian vets can figure out whats wrong. Other times, they can't.

Red suffusion should not be confused for red factor. I am not aware of red factor in princess parrots, but it is in sun conures. The red african greys doesn't fit into either category, since it's an actual mutation, not a dominant cumulative thing. Although, for two non-red princess parrots to produce some red princess parrots is rather odd.


Found another post on red suffused princess parrots, and one person mentioned that a breeder friend of theirs has been breeding princess parrots for 25 years, and the red suffused birds typically die in their third year.... although there is a line out there that doesn't die. I would link to the thread, however, it contains a lot of spam.

Great info! Always interested in learning more, thanks.

WHAT THE F**k 3YEARS?

NO WAY!

Oh god Kush we got to get you to a vet ASAP my feathery homie. Is their a cure for this disease called Red suffusion? This bag of feathers is more healthy than me it seems though? How can he only live 3years thast BULL**** man come on... are you %100 on that?

Interesting. I've not heard of the red suffusion thing before, or seen a princess with those colours. My little princess of the last 19+ years recently passed away, I have a real soft spot for them - so I do hope the 3year thing is not a foregone conclusion!

Please let us know what the vet says.

gemzkebab, I can't say. I wish I could, but if red suffusion is different in princess parrots than others, I really don't know.

All I know is that if your princess was not born that color, then it would be a great idea to take him to an a-vet to ensure he's healthy in all ways possible, which means getting a full blood panel done.

If he's always been that color, but has never been to an a-vet, it still wouldn't hurt just for a good general check up.


If your princess is red due to a medical problem, then there may or may not be a cure for it. It all depends on what caused it, and if the vet can find out what the problem is. Some red suffused birds check out clean and healthy, but still die. Some red suffused birds recover from whatever it is that caused the colors and molt out fine. Some birds turn red during the breeding season and color out fine in the off season.

In short, I can't tell you if it's normal or not. You're best bet would be to call around to various breeders and avian vets and ask them if they are aware of the red princess parrots and if any of them may know the cause of it... however, you are likely to get a variety of responses.

Wow what a beautiful bird. I sure hope she is healthy.

gemzkebab said:

WHAT THE F**k 3YEARS?

NO WAY!

Oh god Kush we got to get you to a vet ASAP my feathery homie. Is their a cure for this disease called Red suffusion? This bag of feathers is more healthy than me it seems though? How can he only live 3years thast BULL**** man come on... are you %100 on that?

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It's not 100 % correct that you princess has a health issue at all. In Australia there are more of these Red Suffused princess being bred. Some present with ill health or possibly lack of direct sunlight. Many of these birds are also expressing the Lutino gene & there may be a genetic link in some cases.

Don't panic, get some blood work done. I breed eclectus that sometimes produce various shades of orange hens. Red under the males wings are also orange. For some reason the red feathers are replaced with orange, my babies have no disease & molt out to the normal colors over 3 years. This is an aquired color.

I am not to sure if breeders in Australia have been able to establish this Red Suffusion in the princess parrot but i do believe there is some work being done on it.

Found this bit of info:- There are strains of this mutation in other species as well, such as Princess parrots.
This mutation is not produced by simple genetics, but is the result I believe, of tandem repeats in a gene that allows red pigmentation in the particular species. Tandem repeats are repeated segments within genes that amplify its effects and they are now known to be the basis of most selective breeding to 'improve traits'. Through dedicate work, breeders are able to gradually select for an 'improvement' in a trait, in effect selecting for individuals with more and more tandem repeats in their Red Suffusion gene.

These selective traits will tend to behave dominantly when outcrossed to normal, but the feature of tandem repeats is that their numbers can vary significantly from one generation to the next and they are not always inherited in a standard Mendellian manner.

Hope this helps.