How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?

I am going to buy a male lutino cockatiel. How will i identify its sex?How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?If it's a young cockatiel, and not purchased through the breeder (who knows the parentage), you'll need a dna test to accurately determine gender.



All juvenile cockatiels have female markings. At the age of 6-9 months they molt their juvenile feathers, and attain adult plumage. If it's a hen (female), the patterns and markings will not change.



All adult female and juveniles, have a striped pattern referred to as barring or banding on their tail feathers. They may be difficult to see on lutinos, and some other mutations - but they are still there. Barring is easiest to see with the bird facing you, with bright light behind it.



Most mutations, including lutino hens and juveniles, also have wing spots - a row of pea-sized dots running along one edge of their primary flight (wing) feathers.



Here is an example of barring and wing spots:

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These markings are the only difference between male and female lutinos. There is no change in overall color whatsoever. Both males and females share the same bright yellow, orange and white pigments. This is due to the lack of grey pigment in the lutino mutation.



In normal grey and whiteface grey cockatiels, the hens have gray feathers that are mixed into the yellow or white on the cheeks and crest, giving them a gray or duller appearance. Males lose all of the grey feathers on the cheeks and most, if not all on the crest, showing bright white or yellow patches.





Behavior may provide clues to help determine sex, but it's never guaranteed. Males tend to be more vocal, more playful, and less fearful. Females tend to be quiet and rather shy. When females do make sound it is usually chirping, squawking or hissing, while males are more apt to whistle.How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?
How old will your new bird be? Lutino's are one of the hardest to sex visually,but not impossible.



A good visual aid is to look under the birds wings,a male will have a clear wing,a female will appear to have spots or bars as some call them,these also refer to the tail feathers.



Are you buying from a pet store or a breeder,either of these if they have the good knowledge should know, if they know their Cockatiels,



Haveing bred various Mutation C*ck'ys over 40 years this is my experience.How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?The lutino mutation is sex linked in cockatiels so the breeder you are buying from will know the sex. If they don't you will need to look for another breeder to buy from, especially if the purpose of the mating is to breed the lutino male with a whiteface hen to get some all white babies. The male bird needs to be lutino split to white face for this senario, ergo; the father of the bird is lutino and the mother is white face.

P.S. don't breed two white face birds together

All the best - Lindsay
you cannot tell from the looks of the bird trust me my best friend is a bird specialist and i have had 2 cockatiels the only way to properly know is by getting a DNA analysis.How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?The only reliable way to know the sex of your pet bird is to have a blood test.How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?
The males have yellow feathers on the top of their head it is a funny sticky uppy bit and females have a grey one but it could be the other way around
The behavior ie if it is vocal. The best way is to get it vet checked.How to identify the sex of lutino cockatiel?
watch its size behaviour habits