Genetics

Homozygous:  Having the same alleles at a particular gene locus on homologous chromosomes

Pied:  Having white feathering about the head and neck.  A bald head pigeon would be a good example

Bull Eye(s): Bull eye is the absence of granular pigment on the outer side of the iris; since the iris is very thin one can see the black pigment on the inner side.  Bull eye commonly associated with white plumage on the head of the pigeon(pied)  

This page will not cover brown; pale; dominate opal; recessive opel; reduced; milky; pencil; faded; qualmond; and indigo or andalusion (andalusion is a spread of  indigo).  None of these colors or spreads are indigenous to the Birmingham Roller. There are some very good sites that do involve themselves with these topics. 

***The information in this page falls way short of everything that is feasible in color genetics and the modifiers involved, but this will be a start for the curious.

It must be understood that performance is not found in a color or pattern.

12/1/14
"Great as are the differences between the breeds of the pigeon, I am fully convinced that the common opinion of naturalists is correct, namely, that all are descended from the rock-pigeon (Columba livia)." - Darwin

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The following is some general color genetics separate from what is considered related to the Birmingham Roller or indigenous to that breed:

The basic pattern of Columba livia in its wild type and domestic form is "blue bar". This is a subtle intermix of the pigment, melanin, which produces dove gray and black. A green/purple iridescence caused by the structure of the feather, itself, is seen on the neck and chest front. Males tend to show more of this iridescence than females, but the difference is sometimes subtle. The blue bar pattern gets its name from two black bars which cross the wing toward the back. There is also a sub-terminal tail bar about a quarter inch (6 mm) from the end of the tail. Personally, I find the blue bar pigeon so attractive that I'm sure if pigeons weren't so ubiquitous that birders would count themselves lucky to catch a glimpse of such a beautiful creature.

Another very common pattern is checker (chequer, check). This is similar to the blue bar pattern but also has many little black marks across the entire wing shield. Checker exists in a few different alleles (alternatives) and may range from light to T-Patter (a very dark check which almost totally covers the light blue of the shield.) Barless, a pattern with no black bars or checks across the wingshield, is rare and found mainly in breeds of Central European ancestry. Each of these three patterns may also be found in the other two pigment series which the domestic pigeon has. The other series are Ash-red and brown. Birds are normally designated by both their color and pattern, e.g., a red bar; brown check, dark blue check, etc. Because the history of the pigeon encompasses many lands and even more centuries, breed traditions sometimes dictate a difference in color/pattern names. A red bar pigeon with some white on its head is often called a silver (or mealy) pied by a racing homer breeder but the same colored bird would be known as a silver badge by a Birmingham roller breeder. Because of this, in these articles, I will be using the genetic designations of color, pigment and pattern and explaining their usage as I go.

Other common colors include white, black, recessive red, pied, splash, grizzle, as well as fantastic and subtle colorations produced by many modifying mutations. These mutations, coupled with the selection of three millennia of breeders worldwide, have produced birds which in pattern, color, feather ornaments, body type and behavior could easily be mistaken for wild species. Some types are so unique that most people don't even realize they're looking at pigeons when they first see them. Some of the links I've provided on the index page will take you to picture of these. So will a trip to your library to find the Levi or Muller book mentioned in the section above. - Frank Mosca

**Frank Mosca has a gift of taking a complicated subject like genetics and making it easy to understand by most.

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Red Check Birmingham Roller

Blue Check Birmingham Roller

Red Bar Birmingham Roller

 

(black is a spread of blue)

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A rich yellowish, buff, burnt-orange colored ground, the body liberally sprinkled with dark flecking, with the flight and tail feathers showing three distinct colors,  black (kite) buff (ground), and white a distinct patch work ensemble. It is also possible to create the exact dilute of this color.  With each molt the almond will increase the size of the black specks until it is primarily black.

Spread Almond -

The ground color resembles a washed out gray or gun metal type base, with rich dark, black flecking, The flight and tail feathers will only show two distinct colors. It is also possible to create the dilute of this color, resulting in a dun almond, with dun break.

DeRoy: - 

A DeRoy is a recessive red almond. Its body color resembles a shade in between red and yellow, (darker or lighter, the intensity varies), and may or may not exhibit darker red break here and there. The dilute of this color is something the Oriental Roller breeders are calling "Cream".  This very pale or pastel buff-yellow shade is actually a dilute DeRoy.

Ash-Red Almond -

The ground color for an Ash-Red almond is very light to near white. the flecking color is ash-red. The dilute of this would be an ash-yellow. The ground color would be very light to near white, and the flecking would be ash-yellow colored.

Kite -
Kites are genetically dark checkered (Ct) birds with a trait for rich bronze which can be seen at the breast, in the wings and in the base of the tail. This trait (K) or perhaps better the complex of  genetic factors behind that coloration is also called "kite". Kites with a very rich bronze in addition are heterozygous recessive red.

This above information is from Ken Davis taken from Frank Mosca's website

Do not mate almonds to blacks if you want to breed decent to good colored rollers. Spread from blacks jacks up the almond expression, particularly the ground color. Kites are the only color to breed almonds to. You'll find it as challenging to find intense colored kite rollers as it is to breed good colored almonds. A second choice would be a dark tortoiseshell exhibiting lots of bronze, but you will have to weed out the grizzle factor. - Brian McCormick

The classical Almond will darken from molt to molt to a level that his black flecking pretty well is the dominate color.

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Pigeon Color Genetics Simplified by Robert Miller

This is a simple explanation on colors and color factors with outcomes from breeding rollers. Not a complete genetic profile by any means.  These outcomes are from keeping good breeding records. Also individual breeding pens are a big help.

Cocks can carry 2 colors and hens can only carry one color.  The cocks get 1 color from the father and 1 color from the mother. The hens only get 1 color so what you see is what you get.  The best example of this is if the father and mother are the same color then all the young will be pure and the same color as the parents.  The next example would be if the father is black and the mother is ash-red, all young cocks will be ash-red carrying black (with black flecking) and all young hens will be black.

There are 3 basic colors Ash/Red, Black and Brown. Brown is the least common of all in rollers and not worth talking about.  (Brown is not indigenous to the Birmingham Roller)

1. Blue / Black = Black and blue are the same. Blue comes from a lack of the color pigment in the feathers.

2. Red comes from Ash-red with the dominate spread gene.

3. Dilute gene = fading of the color (Red dilute = yellow) (Blue dilute = Lavender)

4. White is absence of color.

5. Recessive Red in rollers is from 2 reds mated together; this combination can carry a masking gene also.

Recessive Reds produce the best Red colored birds.

Modifiers such as Spread, Dilute, Recessive and Patterns are all the main genes that modify the basic colors.

The gene pool above with the 3 basic colors gives you all the different colors and patterns we see in pigeons. Pattern control bars, bar-less, check & T-check.  Cocks & Hens can carry 1, some or all the modifiers (modifiers not to be confused with color).  Spread is Masking and can cover colors and patterns.  Some genes and colors are dominant.

1. Ash-Red over Black

2. Spread can mask pattern.

3. Check over T-Pattern

4. Almond

5. Grizzle

Pure cocks are from both parents being the same color.  Pure cock mated to the same color hens gives these colors.

1. Black cock to a black hen = all black young.

2. Ash-red cock and ash-red hen = all ash-red young.

3. Red cock and red hen = all red young.

4. White cock and white hen = all white young.

Ash-Red is a sex-linked color so different colors mating will produce:

1. Ash-Red cock and black hen = all young Ash-Red, young cocks will be carry Black and have the Black flecking.

2. Black cock and Ash-Red hen = Ash-Red cocks that carry black and all hens will be black.

Different color give a lot of variables because of the color, spread, pattern, dilute, dominate and recessive genes they carry.

1. Black with check gene = Black checker.

2. Red with the check gene = Red checker

3. Ash-Red & Check = Mealy

4. Black & Dilute = Dun all the way to Lavender

5. Black & T-Pattern = Blue Bars

6. The Ash-Red cocks with flecking & Black hens = Black cocks, Black hens, Ash-Red hens and Ash-Red cocks with flecking.

You can come up with 100s of different combinations with tons of different looking birds.

Colors I like to breed together. Black to Black, Black to Red, Red to Red, Red Check to Pure black, Kite to Black, Dun or Mealy to Black or Red, Ash-Red bars to Blacks, Almonds to Kites or Mottles, Blue bars to anything and Red Mottles to Black. Almond color is a mutant gene and 2 Pure Almonds should not be mated together. Pure Almonds together can create weak, blind or dead young birds. Multiple colored birds like Kite and Mottles work best on Almonds. Kite is a black with bronzing in the wings.

Hope this helps. Please remember that this is only a small part of the gene pool but the main area needed for rollers.

Robert Miller