THE AMERICAN COCKATIEL SOCIETY

STANDARD OF PERFECTION©

 Color Photos


General Conformation

The Cockatiel is a long bird, with graceful proportions, but of good substance (full bodied). From the top of the shoulder curve to the tip of the wing, from the top of the skull to the vent and from the vent to the tip of the tail (ideally) should measure 7". The goal being a 14" bird with a 3" crest. The total bird being 17 inches.

Crest

Should be long (goal 3"),with good density, curving from the top of the cere fanning out to give fullness.

Head

Should be large and well rounded with no flat spot on top or back of the skull. Baldness will be faulted according to the degree of severity of each bird on the show bench. Our aim is for no bald spot even in Lutinos. The eyes should be large, bright and alert, and placed at mid-point between front and back of the skull. The brow should be well pronounced when viewed from the front, the brow should protrude enough to indicate good breadth between the eyes. The beak should be clean, of normal length, and tucked in so the lower mandible is partially visible. Cheek patches should be uniformly rounded, well defined, (no bleeding), and brightly colored (especially on the males). Adult male Cockatiels will have a bright, clear, yellow head, sharply defined where the yellow meets the border of the main body feathers. A deep bib is preferred. There should be no evidence of pin feathers.

Neck

Should be relatively long- have a very slight curvature above the shoulders and have a small nip above the chest area, giving the bird a graceful outline and eliminating the appearance of a "bull" neck or the "ramrod" posture of some psittacine species. An exaggerated "snake" neck would be reason for fault.

Body

The body of the Cockatiel when viewed strictly from the side angle can be somewhat deceptive, as only a well rounded outline of the chest will indicate whether the specimen has good substance. A frontal (or back) view shows more truly the great breadth through the chest (and shoulder) areas of an adult Cockatiel (more prevalent in hens). It is the strong muscular development that enables the Cockatiel to be such a strong flier. A Cockatiel should have a high. broad. full chest (more prevalent in hens), a slender, tapering abdomen, a wide, straight back (no hump or sway), and be a large, sleek bird.

Wings

Should be large, wide and long, enveloping most of the body from a side view. Should he held tightly to the body,. tips close to the tail with no drooping of the shoulders or crossing of the wings. The wing patch should be wide (goal of 3/4"at the widest point), well defined and clear of darker feathers. All flight feathers should be in evidence. Covert feathers should illustrate their growth pattern clearly.

Legs and Feet

Should hold the bird erect at approximately 7O degrees off the horizontal. Must grasp the perch firmly (two toes forward and two back), be clean, and claws not overgrown or missing.

Tail

The longest flights should be the extension of an imaginary line straight through the center of the bird's body. A humped back will cause the tail to sag too low, and a "swayed" back might elevate the tail higher than desired. The feathers themselves should be straight clean and neither frayed, split or otherwise out of line. All flights should be in evidence.

Condition

A bird in top condition has clean, tight feathers: no frayed or missing feathers, no half grown or pin feathers. The beak and claws must be of suitable length. There should be no unnatural roughness or scaling on the cere, beak, legs or feel. If a bird is in good condition, it will be almost impossible to get it wet. Water will roll off like it does off a duck.

Deportment

In a good show stance, the exhibition Cockatiel should indicate a central line approximately 7O degrees off the horizontal. The bird will present and display well on the perch.

Classification on Types

Color Photos

The following categories concern specific coloration aspects of the Normal and Mutant Cockatiels. While definition is necessary for each type, it is to be remembered that coloration is not as emphasized on the show bench as it may appear to be in the written standard.

Normals
The color should be a dark grey, ideally uniform in color throughout

Pieds
The ideal Pied will be 75% yellow and 25% dark grey. The goal being yellow pied markings over white pied markings. The aim being for tail and wing flights to be totally clear. The mask area should be clear, with no grey to create a "dirty" effect. Symmetry of pied markings are ideal

Lutinos
Ideally a rich. deep buttercup yellow throughout. Long tail feathers and primary flights will not be severely faulted for being a lighter shade of yellow than the body.

Pearl Hens
Extensive "heavy" pearl markings that are well defined, uniform and without splotching. Ideally the pearl markings will be a deep buttercup yellow.

Pearl Males
The same as for hens with less influence placed on the pearl markings.

Cinnamon's
The color should be cinnamon, uniform in color throughout

Fallows
The color should be light cinnamon with a yellow suffusion, uniform in color throughout. The eyes should be ruby or red.

Silvers
The color should be a dull metallic silver, uniform in color throughout. The eyes should be ruby or red.

White Face   Pearls & Pieds
Same as the Normal but void of all lipochrome. The mask area of the cock will be pure white.

Albinos
Will be void of all lipochrome, a pure white bird, with ruby or red eyes. Primaries and flight feathers will not be severely faulted for being an off shade of white.

Yellowcheek
Cheek patch appears gold with a lemon yellow face color in the male bird

Pastels
Cheek patch appears peach with a lemon yellow face color inthe male bird.

Single Factor Dominant Silver
The body being darker metallic silver than expressed in the silver mutation. Face has an orange cheek patch. Eyes, feet & beak are black, with the exception of Pied; this mutation having flesh colored feet & beak. A skullcap of darker pigmentation is visible on the head. Available in all color mutations, including whiteface.

Double Factor Dominant Silver
The body being a very light metallic silver than expressed in the silver mutation. Face has an orange cheek patch. Eyes, feet & beak are black, with the exception of Pied; this mutation having flesh colored feet & beak. A skullcap of darker pigmentation is visible on the head. Available in all color mutations, including whiteface.

Whiteface Single Factor & Double Factor Dominant Silver
Same characteristics as silver with the exception of being a whiteface mutation.

Olive
Available in all color mutations, including whiteface.  This mutation has a green wash and a light feather pattern resembling spangling on the body.

Cross-Mutations
Will be judged by combining the color standards for all mutations involved.

Splits
Markings on Split birds will not be penalized, as these expressions, a genetic factor of birds split to pied and are not a matter of faulty breeding. A bird showing the split mark is split to pied. It can be split to other mutation, but will not show the split markings.

A.C.S. Show Cage

Now available through the A.C.S. Store our newly revised Standard of Perfection for Exhibition Cockatiels. Our new booklet includes information on: exhibitor guidelines, show cage, color classifications, point standard, cage tags, banding, color description on the new rare mutations and more.