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Bengalese Finches occur in quite a few colour mutations...

Self

The Self is a bird with no white markings ie. a solid colour. They occur in 3 basic colours:

Self Chocolate: the colour of dark chocolate. The Self Chocolate is the most desirable mutation as it is the nearest to the ancestral colour.

Self Chestnut: an earthy clay colour which can be highly variable in depth;

Self Fawn/Red Brown: a soft tan to light orange colour.

 

These 3 basic colours can be combined with a range of many other mutations such as:

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Dilute

The Dilute is a recessive trait, which is visually about 50% lighter in colour than the usual Self, with strong highlighting in the usual lighter areas of plumage. They can be produced in all 3 basic colours...

Dilute Self Chocolate: a subtle lighter shade of dark chocolate;

Dilute Self Chestnut: sometimes known as Silver due to their silvery-brown colouration. They range from a very pale true brown to a darker earthy brown.

Dilute Self Fawn: the lightest of the dilutes, usually a soft yellowish cinnamon cream. Darkest forms (most sought after) are usually given the name Red Brown.

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Clearwing

The Clearwing can only be produced in Fawn/Red Brown & Chestnut.

In the USA, the Fawn Clearwing is fairly common (usually mistakenly named Dilute or Cream), although most birds are actually Fawn Recessive Pied Clearwings, not true Self Clearwings, which are very rare, extremely attractive and thus far more sought after.

The Clearwing should possess good solid Self head and rump color, being distinguishable from Dilutes by the middle of the body being extremely pale in comparison to Self head and tail.

Clearwings were originally bred from Dilutes, eventually becoming s distinguishable, but unfortunately not officially recognised mutation as they are still essentially Dilutes.

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Grey

The Grey factor has a recessive inheritance and can occur in all of the 3 basic colours and any other combination of mutations...

Self Grey: the Chocolate form, which is a dark slate grey with a hint of dark chocolate;

Self Chestnut Grey: Chestnut form, a soft slate grey with a hint of earthy brown;

Self Fawn/Red Grey: Fawn form, a very light slate grey with a hint of tan;

Self Black Grey: a very strong deep black grey, almost no trace of brown;

Self Pearl Grey

Self Black Grey Pearl

Self Grey Clearwing: again the Chocolate form of Grey, which is a dark slate grey with a hint of dark chocolate, but with the addition of the Clearwing Factor, it produces a bird with white wings and very faded abdomen;

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Black

The Black is a modification in the density of melanin in the plumage and creates a deeper, blacker over-cast to the whole plumage, legs and beak.

Self Black Brown: This mutation is basically an exceptionally dark Self Chocolate, which was produced by hybridising with other species of dark Munias and Mannikins. This resulted in an almost black bird with well defined scaling on the abdomen, prized by exhibition breeders.

Self Black Grey: a very strong deep black grey, almost no trace of brown. The modification of Self Chestnut or Self Fawn, giving a grey rather than brown base due to the type of melanins possessed in the latter mutations i.e. more grey and red browns than the black and dark browns of the Chocolate.

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Pearl

A recessive sex-linked mutation ie. cocks can be split for Pearl but hens must show the mutation and cannot be split. Pearl should only be bred in the Chocolate form, which displays the mutation and markings to the best advantage, therefore being most attractive. Although, Black Brown and Black Grey can be used as they are exceptionally dark mutations, thus highlighting the Pearl mutation.

It is similar to a Chestnut Grey but with heavy silver highlighting on the head, throat, wings and tail, along with ticking on the chestnut-like body. There should be high contrast between the silver and chestnut colouring.

Self Pearl: the Chocolate form which is a combination of silver and a chestnut shade;

Self Black Grey Pearl: the Black Grey form, somewhat darker contrast and a greyer silver;

Self Black Brown Pearl: the Black Brown form, more contrast with more the chestnut leaning more towards a light chocolate shade.

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Pied/Recessive Pied

Requires both parents to be Recessive Pied or split for, in order to produce pied offspring. Markings generally sought after are 50% Self, 50% Pied, with the Self colour being the base. The Recessive Pied occurs in all colours, but are best bred in the three basic forms:

Chocolate & White

Chocolate & White

Chocolate & White

Chestnut & White

Fawn & White

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Marked White/Dominant Pied

To produce pied offspring, only one parent needs to be Marked White or split for. Markings generally sought after are 25% Self, 75% Pied, though the more pied the bird is, the better. In the Marked White, the Pied i.e. white, appears visually as the base colour, with the self being the overlay. The Marked White, as with the Recessive Pied, occurs in all colours, but are best bred in the three basic forms:

Chocolate Marked White

Chestnut Marked White

Fawn Marked White

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Dark-eyed White

In theory, this bird is a Clear Pied as it still has black eyes, not the red eyes of an Ino. Visually, the Dark-eyed White is a completey white bird, with dark eyes and full-pigmented, possibly varigated, legs and beak.

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Mismarked Selfs

Mismarked Selfs occur in any Self colour and show a few white feathers, usually on the chin, nostrils and wing butts. These birds are essentially Pieds so if the exhibition breeder is aiming for a perfect bloodline of Selfs, these birds should be taken out of the breeding stock.

Mismarked Self Chocolate - note the two white primary flight feathers and the tiny white feather on the shoulder.

Mismarked Self Chocolate - note the tiny white feather on the tip of the shoulder, also under the chin and on the nostril.

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Tricoloured

The plumage visually occurs in three distinct colours. The mutation is most likely a branch of the Pieds with an additional selective diluting gene, which modifies only part of the Self plumage, diluting it to the next, lighter colour. Common forms are the:

Chocolate, Chestnut & White;

Chestnut, Fawn & White.

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Ino

Sex-linked. Complete removal of melanin, resulting in a completely white bird with red eyes, pink feet and bill. Ino occurs in any colour, masking the base plumage mutation by removing all trace of melanin.

Albino: the Chocolate Ino.

Cremino: a combination of cinnamon (aka Chestnut or Fawn) and Ino, which whilst removing all melanin, the caroteniods are increased due the the cinnamon gene and so a pale cream bird results. Thus the birds look like a very pale dilute.

Grey Ino: due to the presence of the Grey factor, when combined with Ino, the plumage has a very pale grey wash.

Mosaic Ino

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Crested

A structural plumage mutation only selective for the crown feathers, resulting in the crown feathers growing in the opposite direction to normal giving the bird a 'monk-style hair-do'. Occurs in any colour.

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Chiyoda - frilled chest

Another structural plumage mutation, this time only selective for the breast and chest feathers, resulting in the chest feathers growing in the opposite direction to normal giving the bird a frilly chest appearence (much like a mans frilly shirt). Occurs in any colour and mostly common in Japan.

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Dainagon - crested with frilled neck

A further structural plumage mutation, this time selective for the crown, chin, neck and nape feathers. The bird is therefore created with a frilly neck (much like an Elizabethan collar). Again, occurs in any colour and mostly common in Japan.