Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) opaline

Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) opaline

Opalines were discovered as a new mutation in the US in 1997.  The birds are characterized by a full hood (color on the head down to the neck) and a tail where the same color reaches down to the tip. The body color goes down to the rump so that there a continuous color at the back (no rump of a different color.  The opaline hoods can be red, yellow or white and the body color can be green, lime or yellow and can have a design such as pied and edged dilute or spangle.  The lutino opaline has a more intense color than the non-lutino opalines.  Opalines have been bred with fallows with fallow eyes but the rump color is white (the ino gene removed the usual blue color of fallows.

It was no surprise that arrival of the Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) opaline mutation resulted in appearance of broad range of new combinations. As a matter of fact, opaline remains the only mutation that can be combined with all other mutations, which is very exciting.