Fun Lutino Cockatiel Facts For Kids
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Want to pet parrots at home? You can choose the beautiful Lutino cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) as your pet.
With orange cheeks, yellow and creamy white feathers, and red eyes, the Lutino mutation is one of the most popular and demanding parrots. They are related to the parrots as both belong to the Cacatuidae family.
The average lifespan of this parrot is between 10-20 years. As a pet, they adapt well with their owner's family.
When taken good care of, they become very friendly and affectionate towards the family members and some even learn to speak or mimic humans when trained. For breeding, these cockatiels require a nest box beside the cage and genetic mutation can bring out varied colors in their offspring.
Behavior-wise, the Lutino cockatiels are similar to the pied, pearl pied, cinnamon, and gray cockatiels, the only difference lies in their color mutation. As a pet, although it is a low-maintenance bird, this bird requires an airy cage, nest box, toys, and sufficient food for proper care.
Want to know more information about the Lutino cockatiel bird? Read on for more.
You can also check out kea parrot facts and thick-billed parrot facts here.
Lutino Cockatiel Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a Lutino cockatiel?
The Lutino cockatiel is one beautiful bird species bred out of a cockatiel mutation. It is one of the easy-to-breed pet birds and has gained popularity throughout the world.
What class of animal does a Lutino cockatiel belong to?
Lutino cockatiels belong to the class of Aves. They are the second cockatiel mutations, first bred in 1958 in Miami, USA.
How many Lutino cockatiels are there in the world?
At present, the exact number of Lutino cockatiels is not known. But it can be said that there are plenty of these birds present in the world.
Since they are one of the most loved pet birds, cockatiel breeding is very famous worldwide. Apart from their natural habitat, most are bred to be kept as home pets, so their population size is in control.
Where does a Lutino cockatiel live?
The Lutino cockatiel was first bred in an aviary in Miami, Florida. It resembles the Australian cockatoo's appearance and behavior. It is a very popular and adorable pet bird species, bred worldwide.
What is a Lutino cockatiel's habitat?
Lutino cockatiels can survive well in both the wild and in captivity. In the wild, the habitat of these birds mainly comprises woodlands, grasslands, forests, bushes, and around wetlands.
They live and comfortably nest their eggs on the branches of different medium-sized trees near the canopy. They prefer warm to moderately cold temperature conditions devoid of extremities. At home, they are mostly held captive in a birdcage.
However, in some households, they are allowed to move freely around the house outside of their cage. Due to their friendly nature, they adapt well to living with humans and make themselves at home in their cages.
Who do Lutino cockatiels live with?
In the wild, Lutino cockatiels are found to live on their own and sometimes in groups to safeguard their nests. As pets, the Lutino develops a very friendly and affectionate bonding with the humans. Like other parrots, they are remarkable in their communication with humans and display very social and jovial behavior.
How long does a Lutino cockatiel live?
These cockatiels have a lifespan between 10-20 years both in the wild and in captivity as pets. The Lutino parrot does not need extraordinary requirements and hence can adapt and survive well in the wild and in a cage.
How do they reproduce?
A male cockatiel mates with a female cockatiel typically in a nest box filled with hay and straws. After mating, the female lays up to five eggs one at a time on alternate days.
The eggs take 17-22 days to hatch and the offspring are born with their eyes closed. On the ninth day after birth, the baby cockatiel opens its eyes, and within 18 days the orange cheek develops and the crest feathers grow.
The male and female offspring attain a complete adult-like appearance by the 30th day. By the 35th day, they learn to take flight and become independent.
What is their conservation status?
At present, the Lutino cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) is listed as a species of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List. Since they are a variant of the parrot species, particularly bred to be sold as pets, their survival chances are higher than other birds held in captivity.
The cockatiel mutations in them have made the Lutino genetically stronger than other parrot or cockatoo species. Hence, humans do not pose any threat to their survival.
They are bred and conserved in different aviaries of Australia, Europe, and America.
However, the Lutino cockatiels found in the wild do face the risk of captivity as the demand for pet birds has increased considerably across the world. So, governments should take effective steps to let the wild Lutinos live freely outside the cage.
Lutino Cockatiel Fun Facts
What do Lutino cockatiels look like?
The Lutino cockatiel has one of the most beautiful appearances out of all the related cockatiel species, like the gray cockatiel or pied cockatiel. Their bodies are covered with creamy-white and yellow feathers throughout their bodies, their tail feathers are very long and pointy, almost half their body's size.
Their head is crowned by erect and held back crest feathers which straighten up or flatten according to their mood.
A bald patch is present behind the crest feathers, which is seemingly becoming absent in the newer breeds of this cockatiel mutation. Like the other related parrot species, they have red eyes, orange cheek patches that develop few days after birth.
How cute are they?
These white-faced birds with whitish-yellow feathers are extremely popular for their cute appearance and behavior. Also, their low voice calls sound very sweet and some can even speak like humans if properly trained. Overall, the Lutino cockatiels are an extremely cute bird species which makes them a popular pet.
How do they communicate?
The Lutino cockatiels are great communicators like other parrots. They are very vocal and expressive about their feelings and emotions.
Although they have a low voice, when kept at home, they can be easily heard from all rooms. This cockatiel can whistle and even speak some words like humans.
The cockatiel can even mimic recurrent daily noises of its surroundings like the doorbell ringing, honking of cars, or even the pressure cooker whistle. A male cockatiel can whistle better and learn to mimic new words or sounds than a female Lutino cockatiel. When angry or curious the cockatiel straightens up its crest feathers backward.
When comfortable and relaxed, they display slightly held-back crest feathers. When happy, they whistle or keep on speaking or mimicking some sounds.
How big is a Lutino cockatiel?
The Lutino cockatiels have an average size of 13 in (33 cm) from their head to tail. They are medium-sized birds, related to the parrot and cockatoo species. A Lutino cockatiel is three times bigger than a sparrow and three times smaller than a vulture.
How fast can a Lutino cockatiel fly?
The exact flight speed of a Lutino cockatiel is not known. But the wild ones fly at a medium-paced speed like other parrots.
How much does a Lutino cockatiel weigh?
The Lutino cockatiel weighs between 3-4.4 oz (85-124.7 g) only. While the whitish-yellow feather is almost weightless, their pelvic bones are strong and make up most of their body weight.
What are the male and female names of the species?
There are no sex-specific names for the Lutino cockatiel.
What would you call a baby Lutino cockatiel?
A baby Lutino cockatiel does not have any specific name. They are called juveniles or chicks.
What do they eat?
The Lutino cockatiel eats herbivorous food. In the wild, their preferrable food comprises fruits, nuts, vegetables, and shoots of plants.
They collect their own food by themselves and feed on the branches of trees. While as a pet, the Lutino cockatiel is given high-grade pellets, cereals, nuts, lentils and legumes, fruits, and some vegetables.
Apart from the food, they should be given adequate water to drink as they speak a lot which easily dehydrates them. In the wild, apart from obtaining their choice of food, they fly around freshwater lakes or ponds for drinking water.
Are they dangerous?
The Lutino cockatiels are not at all dangerous to human beings. Both the males and females behavior is extremely gentle and playful.
Like other parrots, these birds easily bond with humans and are also affectionate towards them. Although a rare instance, if provoked, they get angry and can prick a person with their sharp beak from their cage or if outside the cage.
Would they make a good pet?
Arising out of the color mutations of parrots and other cockatiels, the Lutino cockatiel is one of the most loved pet bird species. Apart from their beautiful yellow feathers, orange cheek patches, and erect crest feathers, they display a very charismatic personality.
Both the males and females are easy to care for and are not fussy. A female Lutino is more caring and affectionate if its owner takes good care.
Females are more playful than males, they can mimic human behavior, when properly trained they can even start to speak.
Closely related to other parrots, they easily learn and adapt to the owner's home environment. For their good care, a large birdcage, nest box, and some toys should be bought.
As careful breeding has to be done to bring out the color mutations and exclude the bald patches, the Lutino cockatiels are one of the most popular yet the most expensive pet birds to keep at home. They are much pricier than cinnamon parrots, gray cockatiel, pearl pied cockatiel, and other parrot species.
Please adhere to local laws and regulations about keeping any animals as pets as they may differ from country to country or from state to state.
Did you know...
The first breeding of the Lutino pearl white cockatiel was done in the Cliff Barringer aviary in Florida, USA.
Lutino cockatiel (scientific name Nymphicus hollandicus) is also known as the quarrian or weiro bird in Australia.
Without proper food, this bird can suffer from malnutrition, fatty liver, and psittacosis.
Red eyes of the cockatiels are sensitive to bright light, hence should be kept in shaded rooms and aviaries.
DIY toys like swings, food boxes, and other toys engage them in play inside the cage.
What is the rarest cockatiel?
The blue rare cockatiel bird is one of the rarest cockatiel birds. They emerge out of the genetic color mutations. Lutino cockatiel and pied cockatiel occasionally make up the blue cockatiel. Their color mutation occurs in a way that gives them either
How can you tell if a Lutino cockatiel is male or female?
Although there are very few visible differences between the male and female cockatiels. For Lutino cockatiels, yellow barring is present in the juvenile parrots.
The barring in males disappears after their first molt within six months of their birth. But the females retain the barring even after the first molt. Throughout the lifespan of these parrots, the males are more jovial and playful while the females have a more loving and caring disposition.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these umbrellabird facts and sociable weaver facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Lutino cockatiel coloring pages.
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