Here you will find interesting examples of very different looking eclectus parrots. One of the most interesting variations in the animal kingdom is a phenomenon called "Chimera". There are a few extreme examples that look very much like a female on one side and a male on the other side. There is a frontal view of an Eclectus chimera on page 31 of Roger Sweeney's Eclectus book. If anyone has not seen it, it is an Eclectus that looks like a male on the left side and a female on the right side. The breast is red and blue on the female side. The head is mostly red on the female side and green on the male side. The text underneath the picture in Sweeney's book reads: "Freak of nature--this bird is probably a result of embryo chimera resulting in coloration being half male and half female."
Here at the Land of Vos, we have a growing showcase of these types of exotic birds (as if they weren't beautiful enough to begin with!).
| The LOV Exotic Eclectus Entourage | ||
| Meet Newt | Sydney & Hunter | Beautiful Babe |
| Lady In Blue | Rainbows | Chimera |
| Polka-Dots | Rainbow Raja | Candi's Kiwi |
| Cinnamon Girl | Yellow Vest | Blondie |
| Eire | ||
| Miscellaneous Pictures | ||
Click Here to read Mary Nogare's "Thoughts on unusual feather pigmentation in Eclectus Parrots"
The definition of "chimera", pronounced kI-'mir-a, is "an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution." There are other Eclectus parrots with variations of coloration but they are NOT chimeras. A few misplaced yellow feathers or red feathers do not meet the test of "tissues of diverse genetic constitution".
