# Losing colour



## cheery (Nov 15, 2012)

When we go on holiday Oscar stays with my mum. Last time we went for a week and this time two weeks. Each time we come back we notice he is paler. He is just two years old now and has no other changes. Does anyone have any suggestions?


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## Tequilagirl (Mar 4, 2013)

My bird has got consistently paler as well, he used to have a lot of grey and now pretty much looks like a lutino except for some markings he's kept. I put it down to being out in the sun but I would like to know why this happens too!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Birds lose color when exposed to a lot of sun. Think of it in the same way as tanning, except in this case melanin is not replenished.


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## cheery (Nov 15, 2012)

Trust me, we don't have a problem with too much sun in the UK! I thought it maybe stress related as he didn't like being away from home.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

I had a thought on this just now. Is the bird single factor dominant silver? That mutation tends to start out looking sort of like a normal gray and gets a lighter feather tone over successive moults.


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## cheery (Nov 15, 2012)

This was him as a 2 month old. I will get a current picture later.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

I see what you mean. Is he losing those pearls on his back?


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## Tequilagirl (Mar 4, 2013)

Not wanting to hijack the thread, just for fun 

This is the first photo I have, it was taken in August 2013. 









February 2014, a lot paler and losing his pearls.









Last month. This is what I call "dirty lutino" look


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## cheery (Nov 15, 2012)

He is losing his pearls but his chest is more silver now than grey. He still has the white edges to his wings though.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Oscar is a male pearl, this means he will slowly transform into normal grey colours, losing nearly all the pearling. The tail shouldn't change much, though; it should be a mottled yellow/black, and the feathers may become more grey as he matures.

This is my male pearl, Coco. He is one year and 5 months old.


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## cheery (Nov 15, 2012)

That is roughly what Oscar looked like at that age. He is now 2y 1m.


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