# Peach or rosy? What color is he?



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

I have been trying to determine what color my male ringneck dove is for certain. He is a rescue, so no breeder to contact for these sorts of questions. For a while, when I was newer to ringnecks, I thought he was blonde. I have noticed, however, that all of the pictures of blondes I have seen have black beaks--while Edmund has a mostly pink beak. I think he could be either rosy or peach. He does not show the purple neck/head that I have seen on some rosy doves, while he has grey flight feathers and tail feathers very close to some of the rosy birds I have seen online. His eyes are orangy red, if it can't be seen well in the photos.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Roan perhaps?
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/RNColorPics/roan.htm

He does look extremely similar to Blond.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Can blondes have pink beaks? I originally thought he was blonde, but noticed a lot of birds in that color had very dark beaks.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

They might. I'm not very familiar with dove genetics, or all the genes that can modify their appearance. There might be something that when added in, makes their beak lighter (like in pigeons, the gene that lightens the skin is smokey).
They said on the website that they vary from light to dark, so maybe the lighter versions also effect the beak?


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Just noticed that if he is Roan, which he does look pretty similar, then he'd have to be a hen, since the male in the picture is might lighter


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Well, he has never been surgically sexed or layed eggs or anything definite. I'm just going off of his bow cooing and wing fluttering towards my female diamond doves (through the cage bars.) He is loud enough in his cooing that I can hear him outside if I listen for him. 
I guess we'll find out when the hen I ordered to be a companion for him/her arrives on Tuesday. lol

Do we know for sure that the lightness or darkness of color is a sex-linked trait?

Here are more pictures in different light from when I first got him. He was a bit roughed up as he was a rescue and had also been beat up by other doves right before I got him.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Comparing pictures online, I'm still seeing dark beaks on fawn/blonde birds: http://www.doveline.com/nybs/2008/100_0616.JPG

While some of the peach birds look sort of close: 
http://www.dovepage.com/columbary/Photos/peachheadshot.jpg

You could be right with roan, though. That's close too, and is more of a match as far as how red/not red the feathers are.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

I've been reading the standard from the American Dove Association. It says that fawn doves "will have a very dark beak." It also says that fawn doves "will have orange eyes." 

Edmund's eyes are quite red. Edmund's beak is pink with a black tip, as is described only for pied in the show standard. 

http://www.doveline.com/nybs/NYBS_Info_Sheet.pdf

As I do research, I think I'm becoming only more confused...


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Does he have any white feathers on him? Maybe if he is pied, then he could still be Fawn afterall.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Other than where it fades to white on his belly/tail and maybe under his wings, no. To be pied it would be a pretty solidly outlined spot, right?

I will look him over in the morning, though, in case there is a small hidden spot.

hmmm, what do you think about the rosy/frosty bird at the bottom of this page? http://doves.gencalc.com/gen/gallery.php?post=0&sp=Ring&ver=0&mut=ry
Or will rosy always show the purple head?

Or do you think we're over-analyzing all this and he's really a very light fawn?


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I'm not sure if they always show the purple or not. But that one does look close too.

Well, even if we are over-analyzing him, at least we're learning some stuff 

If all else fails, you can always get some more opinions from the doves-pigeons yahoogroup. 
You can also try the pigeon genetics group. I'm sure there are members just as skilled in dove genetics as they are in pigeon genetics!

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/doves-pigeons/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/geneticsforpigeons/


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

http://doves.gencalc.com/gen/eng_genc.php?sp=0Ring

I found this neat calculator last night. Maybe we can figure out his color once I put him with the new hen I ordered by seeing what the babies are. She will be an orange pearled (to put that in the calculator you click blonde, modifier, tangerine.) 
So, if they have babies, this might be easier to determine.


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