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I was wondering if anyone has ever seen an all black "American budgie"? I am currently trying to get the right combination of dark colored female and male to try to produce one. Not neccessarily to sell them but for my own pleasure. Right now I am breeding a very dark violet female with a dark violet male. Anyone have any suggestions?

I've seen pictures of 'anthracite' budgies, but never in person. I would assume that it may help to breed dark grey budgies, but then I would assume that they would be a lot more common. It seems to me that the anthracite is rather a separate mutation from the greys and violets. I'm curious though, do you have any pictures of your violet budgies?

Budgies color variations
(Photos courtesy of Mr. Hans-Jürgen H. Lenk)

These dark, almost black birds are not the result of the common grey gene, but it is the Anthracite gene that causes their feathers to darken into that stunning shade of grey.

Budgie Colors & Mutations
Anthracite

The anthracite budgie has a black (or very, very dark grey) body color. All other markings on the budgie are normal, except for the cheek patches, which are the same black as the body color. This variety is very new and was first established in Germany. This variety has been shown to be genetically semi-dominant. A single anthracite factor produces a darkening effect extremely similar to a single dark factor (producing cobalt). A budgie that is double-factor anthracite appears as the true anthracite with the black body color.

photo courtesy of Budgerigar World magazine

More on Anthracites
http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... kel24.html

Anthracite chick
http://www.vogelzucht-kaiser.de/images/ ... 7_-048.jpg
http://www.vogelzucht-kaiser.de/images/ ... 7_-046.jpg
http://www.vogelzucht-kaiser.de/images/ ... 7_-047.jpg


Blackface

Black face is a new mutation in which the black stripes (undulations) of the head extend all the way into the face and mask, as well as the body feathers. The blackface mutation also causes a darkening of the body color. This mutation is extremely rare and last known to only exist in the Netherlands.

photos courtesy of and copyright Didier Mervilde

More on blackface
http://www.euronet.nl/users/hnl/blackfa.htm

ABirdShop98 wrote:I was wondering if anyone has ever seen an all black "American budgie"? I am currently trying to get the right combination of dark colored female and male to try to produce one. Not neccessarily to sell them but for my own pleasure. Right now I am breeding a very dark violet female with a dark violet male. Anyone have any suggestions?

If you are talking about Anthracites, that mutation came out in the English budgie in Germany. The photo of that bird has been posted here. I know of only one person who has imported these birds from Germany to the U.S. They are in AZ. YOu could buy splits for about $1,000, but they look nothing like the photo of the visual. This mutation breeds recessive.

Amazingly beautiful!That's very rare though.