Parrot Hybridization????

What are your thoughts on hybridization of different parrot species? I know conures and macaws have been known to breed and successfully produce young, as well as different species of cockatoos. But could, say, a senegal and an african grey breed? I mean, they are from the same basic family of African parrots and are both pretty similar, so what would you think? What about a meyers and a cape parrot? (Not that I'm intending to experiment lol:09 Just wondering, because I saw a report that there was a galahxcockatiel hybrid and this question just came to my mind.

some conures, amazons, and other parrots naturally breed with different species so if the birds are from the same area and naturally hybridize then i think its ok to hybridize them in captivity if not then its playing with nature in an unnatural way and i dont think thats ok.

As long as they stay just pets and aren't returned to the wild, I can see no harm in it, but I respect why the purists don't like it. I'm not, nor will I ever be, a breeder so it's a moot point for me, but I don't get upset when I see hybrid parrots. I rather think they're interesting, sometimes beautiful (hybrid macaws are amazing looking to me!), and unique (like that Galah x Cockatiel hybrid).

I am pretty much of the same opinion as OOwl, although I personally would not set out to intentionally breed two different species but if it happened, I probably would not split up the loving couple?

Apparently, there are at least two Aratinga (large conure) x Amazon hybrids, and I've only seen one of them.

There are also conure x macaw hybrids out there.


Here are senegal x meyers hybrids
Senegal X Meyers | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Senegal/Meyers hybrid | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Adult Hybrid African Parrot . Part Mayers and part Senegal . | Female, Male Poicephalus Adoption in Enfield NH | 2982104968 | Pets on Oodle Marketplace

Here is a brown head x senegal hybrid
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c186/eetu-lintu/omat linnut/1-1.jpg

And a cape x jardines hybrid
Thor's Cape Parrot Site » Gallery of Companion Capes



If your question is, can poicephalus breed to produce hybrids? The answer is yes.

If your question is, can poicephalus breed with african greys? The answer is "no" or "unknown".



Although I don't promote people to actually hybridize their parrots, it's still an interesting thing to occur. It is far better to hybridize parrots that are closely related rather than ones that are not. Breeding parrots that are not closely related, if offspring do occur, there may be infertility, internal organs messed up, foot deformities, issues with natural behaviors clashing, etc. Keeping parrots pure will ensure that there are plenty of pure birds to be around in case any of these birds are required to go into a breeding program to save their wild counterparts.

However, the downside, is that if a parrot species has a subspecies, there's a good chance that the birds are already hybrids... and this includes senegals. Ever noticed how some senegals have a yellow "vest" where-as others have an orange "vest"??? And how some senegals, the "orange vest" varies from a deep orange to a yellow orange? This is because there are different subspecies of senegals, not different traits.

Lexicon of Parrots
Senegal Parrot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Senegal Parrot (Poicephalus senegalus) | Parrot Encyclopedia

OOwl said:

As long as they stay just pets and aren't returned to the wild, I can see no harm in it, but I respect why the purists don't like it. I'm not, nor will I ever be, a breeder so it's a moot point for me, but I don't get upset when I see hybrid parrots. I rather think they're interesting, sometimes beautiful (hybrid macaws are amazing looking to me!), and unique (like that Galah x Cockatiel hybrid).

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i have seen some beautiful macaw hybrids as well i realized i might have sounded like a "purist" im not i am ok with hybrids i think its great and makes some beautiful birds i just dont think breeding two birds (or other animals) that arent close in the wild and may breed together in the wild is a good idea

Galah x cockatiel is the most useless hybrid ever imagined. It looks and acts like a cockatiel with a stubby crest and orange chest colour. A pure cockatiel is more attractive and a pure galah has a better temperament. There is no point to it other than for people to make money off the bizarre... and that I disagree with highly.

I only see the sale of pet hybrids as useful when your combination makes an improvement. For example, a galah x corella or galah x major gives you a more interesting looking bird than a pure galah and a more toned down temperament then the species its crossed with. They are fabulous pets.

I don't know why anyone would want to cross an african grey with anything, it wouldn't be an improvement on the species.

as long as we don't create stupid (no offense to anyone who thinks they're cute or has one) and/or unhealthy breeds like bulldogs who go blind without eye surgery, or who cant have babies without a caesarian and ridiculous things like munchkin cats. [though their kittens are adorable] dogs and cats are different i know, they're hugely domesticated by comparison and we basically created them as they are now. but seriously some would be just completely useless in the wild.

Id prefer to keep breeds as they are (probably wont ever be a breeder anyway), but i guess my point it that just as much change in a species can occur through selective breeding as through hybridization. so i guess as long as there is a good sized 'normal' population still in captivity in case breeding programs and such are needed, and it doesn't result in bad or unhealthy offspring i don't have too much against it.

I wouldn't want to be a breeder either, I'm more interested in keeping parrots as pets. But it is interesting. I agree completely with Oowl.
MonicaMc, those were some interesting Poicephalus hybrids, and funny about the subspecies of senegals, because our sennie has some different variations of orange and yellow in his vest.
Thingamagigs, as far as I know they didn't make any money out of the Galahtiel or sold it, I think they just intended to keep it as a family pet.
Thanks everyone for the replies!

I'm not a fan of hybridization when the human hand has something to do with it, accross species and especially if it's done because a breeder "felt like trying it out".

There is no real need for it.

As for Senegals subspecies having already been mixed, the same is true with Meyer's. A lot of it, I think, has to do with people being unable to properly identify the different subspecies in the first place or not thinking that there was any real difference to begin with.

Thingamagigs said:

Galah x cockatiel is the most useless hybrid ever imagined. It looks and acts like a cockatiel with a stubby crest and orange chest colour. A pure cockatiel is more attractive and a pure galah has a better temperament. There is no point to it other than for people to make money off the bizarre... and that I disagree with highly.

I only see the sale of pet hybrids as useful when your combination makes an improvement. For example, a galah x corella or galah x major gives you a more interesting looking bird than a pure galah and a more toned down temperament then the species its crossed with. They are fabulous pets.

I don't know why anyone would want to cross an african grey with anything, it wouldn't be an improvement on the species.

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I actually think the galatiel is kind of cute!!! I actually prefer the colors of these compared to the "washed out" galah x white too hybrids. (although, some of those are rather cute! Or the strikingly orange galah hybrids) But, there are at least 3 of these (galatiel) hybrids in existence now.

Flickr: Search Hybrid Parrots

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...98145133547155&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Above FB link should work. If it doesn't, here's a direct link to the image.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/526225_307302986045413_494381704_n.jpg

I'm actually surprised I haven't heard of galatiels outside of Australia, considering how much hype the first one brought about.

Oedipussrex said:

as long as we don't create stupid (no offense to anyone who thinks they're cute or has one) and/or unhealthy breeds like bulldogs who go blind without eye surgery, or who cant have babies without a caesarian and ridiculous things like munchkin cats. [though their kittens are adorable] dogs and cats are different i know, they're hugely domesticated by comparison and we basically created them as they are now. but seriously some would be just completely useless in the wild.

Id prefer to keep breeds as they are (probably wont ever be a breeder anyway), but i guess my point it that just as much change in a species can occur through selective breeding as through hybridization. so i guess as long as there is a good sized 'normal' population still in captivity in case breeding programs and such are needed, and it doesn't result in bad or unhealthy offspring i don't have too much against it.

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Species, not breeds. But I agree - I'd rather see *healthy* hybrids rather than hybrids who have shortened lifespans, birth defects, etc. Subspecies hybrids and hybrids between two closely related species (i.e. Aratinga hybrids, Pyrrhura hybrids, Poicephalus hybrids, Amazona hybrids and White Cockatoo [couple different generas] hybrids) are all probably pretty healthy... except macaw hybrids on the other hand generally don't go past the 4th or 5th generation without infertility and/or birth defects; go figure!

KawaiiTheLinnie said:

I wouldn't want to be a breeder either, I'm more interested in keeping parrots as pets. But it is interesting. I agree completely with Oowl.
MonicaMc, those were some interesting Poicephalus hybrids, and funny about the subspecies of senegals, because our sennie has some different variations of orange and yellow in his vest.
Thingamagigs, as far as I know they didn't make any money out of the Galahtiel or sold it, I think they just intended to keep it as a family pet.
Thanks everyone for the replies!

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I find it ironic, and sad, how there can be so many anti-hybrid people out there that may own birds with known subspecies, and the possibility of said bird(s) to potentially be a hybrid. Unless you can tract down the birds origins back to the wild caught birds, and knowing where these birds came from, you might have a hybrid...

The *only* subspecies that people actually care about are eclectus subspecies, and to a lesser amount, amazon subspecies. It's a big no-no to hybridize eclectus, but it's practically overlooked in almost all other species. This makes absolutely no sense to me! The last time I saw breeders actually care about the different subspecies in various parrots was about 10-12 years ago. Between now and then, I don't know what happened... maybe people decided to stop caring?

My mitred conure is one such species as well. There's one nominate species and two subspecies. I know for a fact which subspecies he is (Northern Mitred Conure) because his parents are wild caught imports and he shows no traces of the other two subspecies. I haven't actually seen his parents in person, since he came to me as a second hand bird over 5 years ago and he'll be 19 this year. His breeder only kept his parents for one clutch prior to giving/selling the pair to a friend of hers.

That said, a "long time knowledgeable breeder" told me he's a hybrid and that he has cherry head in him. I used to own a cherry head, and Charlie, my mitred, was given to me as a cherry head! But I've studied the red headed species well enough to know the difference! Said breeder has a pair of cherry heads... I really wonder if they are cherry heads, hybrids or a different species altogether.

Shade said:

I'm not a fan of hybridization when the human hand has something to do with it, accross species and especially if it's done because a breeder "felt like trying it out".

There is no real need for it.

As for Senegals subspecies having already been mixed, the same is true with Meyer's. A lot of it, I think, has to do with people being unable to properly identify the different subspecies in the first place or not thinking that there was any real difference to begin with.

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If breeders can't even tell the difference between species, I don't see how we can expect them to tell the difference between subspecies... When my cherry head was given to me, the previous owner didn't know if he was a "red masked" or "mit-red" (my-turd! ) conure. Had to do a lot of research to find out for sure, since information back then was highly limited. And, as mentioned, Charlie was given to me as a cherry head. If I didn't do my research (previously) on the different red head species, I probably would have taken it at face value and believed he was in fact a cherry head. His foster parents were surprised to learn he wasn't a cherry head, and thus not related, in any way, to the wild flock of cherry heads (and hybrids) in San Francisco.

Unfortunately, I've ran across a few breeders who take things at face value... i.e. being told a mitred conure is a cherry head and breeding the mitred to a cherry head (don't mind the fact that they are different sizes, slightly different colors and different amounts of red on their bodies - oh, and lets not forget, cherry heads are born 100% green and mitreds are born with a small amount of red to the forehead!) or gold caps being sold as sun conures or jendays. This is not responsible breeding... And to say it bugs me, is putting it lightly! LOL

As long as the species isn't extremely rare and endangered(In captivity as well as the wild) I see no problem. As long as they aren't released into the wild. Like if there's only 200 in the wild and 400 in captivity I wouldn't want them to be breed to another species.

KawaiiTheLinnie said:

I wouldn't want to be a breeder either, I'm more interested in keeping parrots as pets. But it is interesting. I agree completely with Oowl.
MonicaMc, those were some interesting Poicephalus hybrids, and funny about the subspecies of senegals, because our sennie has some different variations of orange and yellow in his vest.
Thingamagigs, as far as I know they didn't make any money out of the Galahtiel or sold it, I think they just intended to keep it as a family pet.
Thanks everyone for the replies!

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There is more than one galatiel, they are being bred by an aviary in sydney now who is looking for "offers" for the birds they recently bred. Advertising them as rare, first time up for sale etc etc. They did the breeding for money, they are a big aviary that sells pet birds for money, not just an ordinary person who put their pet birds in an aviary and they bred.

MonicaMc said:

I actually think the galatiel is kind of cute!!! I actually prefer the colors of these compared to the "washed out" galah x white too hybrids. (although, some of those are rather cute! Or the strikingly orange galah hybrids) But, there are at least 3 of these (galatiel) hybrids in existence now.

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A galah x a larger too may not be as cute as you like, but temperament wise makes a more suitable pet than the larger too but a little more advanced than the galah... a useful pairing. A galah x cockatiel is just a different looking cockatiel.

Galatiels are now being bred for profit. I disagree very strongly with that. An aviary in sydney put the pair together with the intention to create and sell the birds at a huge price.
What happens when the novelty of a galatiel wears off and they realise they have themselves a very expensive orange cockatiel? Make a bit of money by selling it on again? Birds are intelligent creatures, they shouldn't be used like a sideshow attraction. It would be great if they find a good home, but at the prices they are expecting I doubt they will, they will likely be purchased by someone who wants to feel special.

Although I don't like the fact that there are people intentionally breeding galatiels, I find them cute because they look like giant cockatiels! With some orange feathers and broader tail feathers.

I have cockatiels, and if I were to buy a cockatoo, a galah would be high on the list! But honestly, I'd prefer them separate, rather than combined. Considering that both galahs and cockatiels are relatively cheap in Australia, I don't believe that there should be a higher price tag for a hybrid... and this goes for any hybrids! Just because it's "rarer" than a pure species doesn't mean it should cost more...