Do all adult, male, blue Princess of Wales parakeets look like this?

[Hedgehog25]

I am strongly considering getting a blue male Princess of Wales parakeet, and of course, most of the birds I have looked at that are offered by various breeders are pretty young, so most of them don't have their adult plumage yet. With that being said, they tend to be... more "bland" looking than some of the generic photos I've seen of male blue POWs. Also, many of the birds I've seen for sale only have a partial amount of blue on the wings, and aren't entirely blue.

For anyone who has experience with these birds, do you know if all male blue POWs will have these colors (including the blue/violet on the back) once they're fully-grown adults?:

http://www.animalphotos.me/bird6/bird6-reg_files/pow_blue_strain.jpg

http://royalwingsaviary.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Speical-Bird-Pics-047.jpg

I really love how those 2 birds look... compare the extent of their coloring, as well as variety of colors, with the bird in this photo:

http://royalwingsaviary.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Baby-Cockatiels-July-3-2014-053.jpg

As you can see, it's still a nice-looking bird, but it's not nearly as colorful. Is that likely just because it's a juvenile?

Thanks...

 

[Birdbabe]

@Hofstadter

 

[Hofstadter]

My blue princess parrot looks closest to the one on the bottom, and he is quite young. Also, i have not really seen the violet on the rump. I think the usual there is the greyblue of the rest of its body, the violet being a submutation. I could be wrong though

 

[Hedgehog25]

My blue princess parrot looks closest to the one on the bottom, and he is quite young. Also, i have not really seen the violet on the rump. I think the usual there is the greyblue of the rest of its body, the violet being a submutation. I could be wrong though

Thanks. So does your POW have solid blue wings like the birds in the top 2 pics, or is it more of just an incomplete "dusting" of blue, like the bird in the bottom pic?

I guess what I'm curious about is, how much variation is there in the coloring of these birds? It seems like some of them are covered in lots of vivid blue, while others are mostly gray with small touches of blue.

BTW, how is your bird in terms of personality? Is he generally friendly, does he have a tendency to nip, etc.? Compared to other birds such as conures, do you find that they enjoy human contact?

Thanks again!

 

[Hofstadter]

Thanks. So does your POW have solid blue wings like the birds in the top 2 pics, or is it more of just an incomplete "dusting" of blue, like the bird in the bottom pic?

I guess what I'm curious about is, how much variation is there in the coloring of these birds? It seems like some of them are covered in lots of vivid blue, while others are mostly gray with small touches of blue.

BTW, how is your bird in terms of personality? Is he generally friendly, does he have a tendency to nip, etc.? Compared to other birds such as conures, do you find that they enjoy human contact?

Thanks again!

I think the general standard is grey all around, light grey on throat, with bright blue on the wings, the amount is variable. The violet on the rump i have no clue.

I have two of them, they are in the same cage so I dont know how a single one fares with humans. But both of mine are incredibly friendly, the only time they have nipped me is when I have needed to hold them to check under their wings for brusing or what have you. Princess parrots are generally known as being very aloof, as in they are not lovebirds and dont attach themselves to you, however, even those with mates have known to enjoy human contact, but in general, they NEVER like to be touched. I have never heard of a cuddly PP

 

[Aequa]

We have a blue, male Princess ^_^ Smokie is most like the ones in the middle link, I've never seen one like in the first pic. Smokie is a clown and very affectionate but hates being touched. He loves to make noise and be with you, he will play for non-contact, noisey games for ages with you before falling asleep on your knee, then he will tell you off for trying to play or anything. He is independent, he loves company but if he doesn't feel like it, he won't have it. Not terribly nippy but not afraid to - and this is a bird who never socialised with other birds until a year old and was raised in a loving family that had him out all day long.

 

[Hedgehog25]

We have a blue, male Princess ^_^ Smokie is most like the ones in the middle link, I've never seen one like in the first pic. Smokie is a clown and very affectionate but hates being touched. He loves to make noise and be with you, he will play for non-contact, noisey games for ages with you before falling asleep on your knee, then he will tell you off for trying to play or anything. He is independent, he loves company but if he doesn't feel like it, he won't have it. Not terribly nippy but not afraid to - and this is a bird who never socialised with other birds until a year old and was raised in a loving family that had him out all day long.

Thanks for the description! Just to be sure, you said your POW looks the most like these? Including the violet patch on the rump?

http://royalwingsaviary.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Speical-Bird-Pics-047.jpg

 

[Hofstadter]

Heres my blue boy for comparison

 

[Hedgehog25]

Heres my blue boy for comparison

Nice photo, how old is he?

 

[Hofstadter]

I would estimate just over a year old. When he got him it was at the end of last years exams, mid november, by that time he was 3 months old