FAQ: what about fallow Pyrrhura molinae?
There are a lot of questions about the fallow Pyrrhura molinae, but the most important question for the moment is probably whether this is a pure-bred mutant. After all, we know that there is also a fallow mutant in Pyrrhura frontalis and some suspect that they this factor may have been cultured in Pyrrhura molinae.
The fallow Pyrrhura molinae origins from South Africa. I contacted Louis Bothma, one of the breeders of this mutant in South Africa. Louis is formal: this is a 100% purebred mutation in Pyrrhura molinae.
He bought these birds from a breeder in Bloemfontein, but the original breeder of this fallow mutant, Charles Marei, lived in Kwazulu Natal. He bred the first fallow Pyrrhura molinae back in the 1980s. Given the difficulty of breeding this colour mutation, it took many years to build up a collection. The first fallow Pyrrhura frontalis appeared later.
The question then remains which type of fallow is it in Pyrrhura molinae? From what I got to see, I suspect this is a dun fallow.
In fallow Pyrrhura frontalis the eumelanin reduction seems higher than in the fallow Pyrrhura molinae, so there is a possibility that Pyrrhura frontalis could be pale fallow, but just to be clear, that’s just my suspicion. As always, more research will be needed to confirm this.
Pictures: ©Iggino Van Bael
