GRIZZLE
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©Hein van Grouw

First year plumage on the above male. Note the "grizzle" effect on the birds chest in both pictures.

©Hein van Grouw

This is a picture of the same bird as in pic #1  in second year plumage. Note the enhanced "grizzle"   of the chest, throat, head & wing shields.

The newest color mutant in the Ringneck dove is probably the Grizzle. This mutant occurred in 1996 in the Netherlands in a strain of Tangerine Ringnecks. Because of the Tangerine background the appearance of the single mutation form is not yet known. As a result of this the effect of the mutation on the eumelanin is also unknown at this moment. The grizzling effect in the affected Tangerine birds expresses itself only in the adult plumage but the expression differs. In some doves it is hardly noticeable while the plumage of others is clearly grizzled with a lot of whitish feathers. An autosomal dominant gene is responsible for this mutation. It is possible this gene is partial dominant just like Grizzle in pigeons but, of course, the real character of the genetical background will be worked out.

More "GRIZZLE" Pictures

European Ringneck Colors