With so many mutations, it can be difficult to know what to look for when trying to sex your cockatiel. The following chart tells you what to look for with each color mutation.

Don’t know your bird’s mutation?

Some visual sexing rules:

• Applies only to birds that have gone through their first molt.
• Crest length is not accurate.
• Cheek patch intensity is not accurate.
• Mutations that cannot be sexed visually should be sexed by behavior

Mutation	Male	Female
Normal, Cinnamon, Fawn	Yellow head No barring on tail.	Looks exactly like juvenile Head may have a few flecks of yellow Tail barring remains.
Pearl	Pearls lost or diminished after first molt. Eventually all will be lost, making the bird look like a normal male (see above). Please note that pearl pied males can retain their pearl markings.	Pearls retained throughout entire life.
Whiteface	White head No barring on tail.	Looks exactly like juvenile. Head may have a few flecks of white. Tail barring remains.
Yellowface	Yellow head No barring on tail	Looks exactly like juvenile Head may have a few flecks of yellow Tail barring remains

The following mutations can be sexed by DNA or behavior:

© 1997-2016 by Karen Trinkaus. May not be reprinted or used in any way without the author’s permission.