Mutations
Blue Caiques ?!
You are here because you heard the possibility of a blue caique, and didn't think it could be true. Honestly, I wasn't sure at first, myself. I thought it was an elaborate internet hoax. But, with some interesting updates that have happened over a period of time, we are beginning to see the reality of this bird.
8/2/08 - A thread was posted on the forum about the possibility of a blue caique, with a reference to a yahoo group that had a picture posted of the bird. That thread can be viewed here
8/5/08 Emily posted a blog entry regarding the blue caique, questioning its validity. John McMichael of thecaiquesite.com responds to the post, saying "I think this blue caique is real. If there is a mutation that blocks the expression of the yellow pigment, this is exactly what you would expect. The residual yellow pigment on the nape may be due to a different pigmet--the one that fluoresces in black-light. The blue color comes from the feather's structure on a background of black melanin and its black head means it is still expressing the melanin gene. Does anyone know where this picture originated?"
9/1/08 - Emily joins the aforementioned yahoo! group and sends an email to the originator of the picture. The originator of the picture refuses to reveal any more information about the bird at this time. At this point, the validity of this bird cannot be confirmed nor denied
10/7/08- Emily again posts on the blog about the disappoint regarding not being able to gain anymore information on the blue caique mutation and once again questions its authenticity. She also encourages people to share information they have, because aviculture is nothing if people hoard their nuggest of knowledge.
10/9/08 - A user going by the name of Red Cap, living in Australia, responds to the post about the blue caique and posts some interesting photos of the chick during the handfeeding stage. The poster also verifies that the caique is indeed a pallid, but is withholding any further information about the bird, its origin, or other such releveant knowledge until a later date. Emily has requested a copy of the information as soon as it becomes available to the public.
The following photos were posted original at the Caique Crazy Blog
 |
 |
 |
| More images to become available as they are released |
We will continue to add to this page as more information becomes available.
<---- Go Back to the Mutations Page