Sexing Cockatiels Visually

With so many mutations, it can be difficult to know what to look for when trying to sex your tiel. The following chart tells you what to look for with each color mutation.
Don't know your bird's mutation?

Some visual sexing rules:

Applies only to birds that have gone through their first molt.

Crest length is not accurate.

Cheek patch intensity is not accurate.

Mutations that cannot be sexed visually should be sexed by behavior.

Mutation	Male	Female
Normal & Tint-changing Mutations (cinnamon, fawn)	Yellow head No barring on tail. Here is a male.	Looks exactly like juvenile Head may have a few flecks of yellow Tail barring remains. Adult female.
Pearl	Pearls lost or diminished after first molt. Eventually all will be lost, making the bird like a normal male. A male in the process of losing his pearls.	Pearls retained throughout entire life. Two pearls.
Whiteface	White head No barring on tail. This adult male is also pearl, but you can see the distinct white head and loss of pearl markings.	Looks exactly like juvenile Head may have a few flecks of white Tail barring remains.
Yellowface	Yellow head No barring on tail	Looks exactly like juvenile Head may have a few flecks of yellow Tail barring remains

Pied	Cannot be visually sexed, except when combined with pearl mutation. Barring, cheek patch intensity and head color are inaccurate.
Lutino	Cannot be visually sexed, except when combined with pearl mutation (which even then may be impossible to see). Tail barring and cheek patch intensity inaccurate.
Albino	Cannot be visually sexed at all.

Feisty Feathers

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