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We breed from a very select small group
of Gould Finches in all mutations, including yellows and blues. Please let us
know if you have further questions.
The Lady Gouldian finch measures about 5 inches from head to tail. Many
mutations and suspected mutations exist in aviculture, including: red head,
yellow head, black head, purple breast, white breast, lilac breast, blue body,
seagreen (present in Australia and reported in other countries, but may not be a
true mutation), yellow body or sex-linked pastel, dilute-backed (only present in
Australia; it is a separate mutation from what most American breeders call
"Dilute"), Australian yellow (present in Australia), blue breasted (may not be a
true mutation), cinnamon (present in Europe), lutino (present in America and
Europe), Fallow or red-eye (present in Japan), and dark factor (present in
Europe). Only the most commonly kept mutations will be described here. See the
photos and articles (below) to view more mutations. Genetics information
(including breeding outcomes) is also available on the commonly-kept
head colors,
breast colors, and
body colors.
 | Red headed normal: Red mask, black outline around the mask,
blue border around the black outline, green back, blue and black tail,
purple breast, yellow abdomen. This is the "wild type" Gouldian. |
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| Yellow headed normal: Has an orange ("yellow") mask instead of
a red one. This mutation is rare in the wild. |
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| Black headed normal: Has a black mask instead of a red one.
This mutation is the most common in the wild. |
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| White breasted: The purple of the bird's chest is replaced by
white; this mutation can occur in combination with any other color
mutation listed here, except for pastel and dilute cocks which always have
a purple breast. |
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| Yellow-bodied ("Yellow"): Red, yellow, or off-white mask,
off-white outline around the mask, yellow back, off-white tail, purple
breast (or white breast if the bird is white breasted), yellow abdomen.
(Black and blue markings are reduced as to be essentially white in this
mutation). This mutation is also called "pastel green." |
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| Blue-bodied ("Blue"): Salmon or black mask with a black outline
followed by a blue border, blue back, off-white abdomen, black and blue
tail, and a purple breast (or a white breast if the bird is white
breasted). (Yellow and red colorations are greatly reduced in this
mutation). |
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| "Silver": Salmon or off-white mask, off-white back, off-white
tail, off-white abdomen, purple breast (or white breast if the bird is
white breasted). (Yellow and red colorations are greatly reduced in this
mutation, while blue and black colorations are reduced as to be
essentially white). This mutation is also called "Pastel Blue." |
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| "Dilute": Red, yellow, or gray mask, gray outline around the
mask, blue border around the gray outline, pale green back, blue and gray
tail, purple breast (cannot be white breasted!), yellow abdomen.
(Blue and black colorations are partially reduced in this mutation).
This mutation occurs in COCKS ONLY! Another name for this mutation is
"Single-factor Pastel Green," which was constructed to help prevent
confusion between these birds and the Dilute-backed birds of Australia (a
separate mutation). |
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| "Pastel": Salmon or gray mask, gray outline around the mask,
blue border around the gray outline, pale blue back, blue and gray tail,
purple breast (cannot be white breasted!), off-white abdomen.
(Yellow and red colorations are partially reduced in this mutation).
This mutation occurs in COCKS ONLY! Another name for this mutation is
"Single-factor Pastel Blue," which was constructed to bring consistency to
the naming of the mutations and help prevent its confusion with different
mutations which were similarly named. |
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Sexing
The hen is paler than the cock overall: the color of her back, breast,*
and abdomen is less intense, and she has very little if any blue border around
her mask. If she is yellow or red headed, she will likely have far more black
feathering in her mask than the cock, who only has a thin black border around
his mask. When in breeding condition, the hen's beak will become black (or red
or yellow if she is yellow bodied).
*A lilac breasted male may have a pale chest color like that seen in
a normal hen, but normally the purple color of the cock's breast is far more
intense than that of the hen. The cock generally has more vivid coloration on
his back and abdomen as well, and has a larger blue border around his mask than
the hen. When in breeding condition, the tip of his beak will become bright red
or yellow. Although both cocks and hens can make simple shrill calling noises,
ONLY cocks can sing.
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