Cockatiel - Species, Feeding

The cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), also known as the quarrion and the weiro, is a bird that is a member of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia. They are prized as household pets and companion parrots throughout the world and are relatively easy to breed. As a caged bird, cockatiels are second in popularity only to the budgerigar.

Species

he cockatiel's distinctive erectile crest expresses the animal's emotional state. The crest is dramatically vertical when the cockatiel is startled or excited, gently oblique in its neutral or relaxed state, and flattened close to the head when the animal is angry or defensive. The crest is also held flat but protrudes outward in the back when the cockatiel is trying to appear alluring or flirtatious. In contrast to most cockatoos, the cockatiel has long tail feathers roughly making up half of its total length. At 30 to 33 cm (12 to 13 in), the cockatiel is the smallest of the cockatoos which are generally larger at between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 23.5 in).

The "normal grey" or "wild-type" cockatiel's plumage is primarily grey with prominent white flashes on the outer edges of each wing. The face of the male is yellow or white, while the face of the female is primarily grey or light grey, and both sexes feature a round orange area on both ears, often referred to as "cheddar cheeks". This orange colouration is generally vibrant in adult males, and often quite muted in females. Visual sexing is often possible with this variant of the bird.

Cockatiels are relatively vocal birds, the calls of the male being more varied than that of the female. Cockatiels can also be taught to sing specific melodies. Much like parrots, but not quite to that extent, Cockatiels can be taught to repeat words spoken by human owners.

Sexual dimorphism

All wild cockatiel chicks and juveniles look female, and are virtually indistinguishable from the time of hatching until their first moulting. They display horizontal yellow stripes or bars on the ventral surface of their tail feathers, yellow spots on the ventral surface of the primary flight feathers of their wings, a grey coloured crest and face, and a dull orange patch on each of their cheeks.

Adult cockatiels are sexually dimorphic, though to a lesser degree than many other avian species. This is only evident after the first moulting, typically occurring about six to nine months after hatching: the male loses the white or yellow barring and spots on the underside of his tail feathers and wings. The grey feathers on his cheeks and crest are replaced by bright yellow feathers, while the orange cheek patch becomes brighter and more distinct. The face and crest of the female will typically remain mostly grey, though also with an orange cheek patch. Additionally, the female commonly retains the horizontal barring on the underside of her tail feathers.

The colour in cockatiels is derived from two pigments: melanin (which provides the grey colour in the feathers, eyes, beak, and feet), and lipochromes (which provide the yellow colour on the face and tail and the orange colour of the cheek patch). The grey colour of the melanin overrides the yellow and orange of the lipochromes when both are present.

The melanin content decreases in the face of the males as they mature, allowing the yellow and orange lipochromes to be more visible, while an increase in melanin content in the tail causes the disappearance of the horizontal yellow tail bars.

In addition to these visible characteristics, the vocalization of adult males is typically louder and more complex than that of females.

Colour mutations

Main article: Cockatiel colour genetics

Fifteen different cockatiel colour mutations are currently established in aviculture, including grey, pied, pearled, cinnamon, whitefaced, lutino, albino (a.k.a. whitefaced lutino) and yellowcheeked cockatiels. Mutations in captivity have emerged in various colours, some quite different from those observed in nature. In 1949 the species began to spread throughout the world, with the creation of "wild", and then "pied" mutation developed in California in the United States. There are many mutations of cockatiels with varied colours, they are: silvestre, harlequin, lutino, cinnamon, opaline (pearl), cara black, silver, fawn, albino (there is a pattern and not just albino genetic mutations), pastel, silver and recessive silver dominant.

Feeding

What should I feed my cockatiel?

Cockatiels are vulnerable to obesity, iodine deficiencies and other diet related problems including feather picking and egg binding. A well-balanced and varied diet must be maintained at all times.

"Cockatiels are vulnerable to obesity, iodine deficiencies and other diet related problems including feather picking and egg binding."

Seeds
Wild cockatiels would eat a great variety of seed types in the wild as different plants come into season. Commercial seed mixes may contain from 4 - 10 different kinds of seeds and nuts. However, they tend to be high in fat and carbohydrates and provide a deficient or imbalanced source of many nutrients if fed as the only source of food  that could lead to ill health and potentially shorten the life of your cockatiel. The problem is, cockatiels tend to selectively eat only 1 or 2 of their favorite types of seed. Millet and sunflower seed is often chosen preferentially leading to excessively high fat and deficiencies in calcium and vitamin A. Owners will often offer a millet spray or branch. This, of course, is more of the same seed and leads to further malnutrition. Honey Sticks are also often offered, but once again, they contain more seeds that are stuck together with sugar and honey. Molting foods, song foods and conditioning foods are also available. These products are simply different combinations of more seeds that really have no particular bearing on the condition they claim to treat. Healthy molts, vibrant song, talking and strong condition is achieved by feeding a balanced diet all of the time.

"Healthy molts, vibrant song and strong condition is achieved by feeding a balanced diet all of the time."

Seeds are highly palatable, preferentially sought after but nutritionally they are like giving candy to a child every day. Seeds should only be a small part of a balanced diet but should never be the entire diet. Gradually offer fewer seeds and your bird will start eating other foods more.