Lineolated parakeets are one of the tiniest hookbills and are sometimes called barred parakeets, although these may actually be a sub species. They are intelligent, curious, gentle and sweet natured wee parrots, a little larger than budgies. They mimic sounds and whistles, and have been known to talk as early as 6 weeks of age!
Lineolated parakeets come from the dense forests of Central South America and are roughly 6 & 3/4 inches in length. They weigh on average, a petite 47 - 55 grams. Oddly enough, these little gems prefer to run and climb rather than fly so equip their cages with a highway of branches and watch the fun as they run along each one! Because of their quiet voices and smaller size, these birds make perfect apartment pets. Usually they make a cute burbling sound ...a sort of "beep" that reminds me of a teeny tiny microwave beeping! They also can emit a high pitched contact call.
Maybe if I stand on my tippy toes, I'll be able to see that parakeet staring at me over there!
pic. courtesy of Carol Sherman
<---- Meet "Columbus" (so named because he likes to explore!) He's an olive mutation lineolated and only 9 weeks old here. ----- > These lineolated chicks are only 2-3 weeks old and still being handfed. Many are still covered with soft grey down, but the older ones have begun to feather out a little bit.
Now ain't they just the cutest wee faces you've ever seen?
Go ahead... try to count them!.
This is another pretty mutation... the creamino.
Linnies are playful little birds that often hang upside down from their perches, sometimes from one foot! They love a spray bath and will spread their wings out fully to catch every drop. As a pet bird for young and old alike, they'll be hard to rival with a sweeter temperment than budgies, lovebirds or parrotlets which tend to be more aggressive by nature. A single pet linnie can sometimes bond very tightly to it's owner and be defensive of them with other folks.
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Pics by Carol Sherman...thanks gal!
Compare this olive to the standard green below and you'll see that olives have a more yellow cast to their plumage.
The Hatchery's second clutch of blue mutation linnies... 2 marine blues and a slate
These wee gems are out of a pair of cobalts. Their first clutch was 2 cobalts and 1 marine blue.
Marine blue
Slate, or double factor blue Linnie
We believe these 3 clutch mates are all boys! Note the difference in colour from the 2 cobalt blue babies and the single marine blue chick which is more of a turquoise tone.
If you look closely at the tips of the central tail feathers, you'll see quite a bit of black indicating the likelyhood that these are cock birds.
Cobalt blue and standard green
2 unrelated standard green hens
The following pics were taken by my dear friend Pat with her digital camera. Many thanks Pat for their presentation here!
Standards are a rich emerald green tone
Someone's different!
Ok gang... here's the plan... we escape at midnight!
What a difference a week makes!
Lutino male linnie
"Blaze"
Pretty little creamino hen with her olive mate
One of my proven standard green pairs. Great parents!
Both these marine blues have taken Best Small Parrot in show.
Blaze and Ember's lutino daughters Chiquita and Madonna
"Chiquita", left (lutino)
"Guiness", center (green / blue/ ino)
"Madonna",
right
(lutino)
All the babies at Homestead's Hatchery are given the opportunity to fledge (fly) and develop strong wing and chest muscles. They aren't flight trimmed until they're going home to a new environment. It's crucial for their safety. After the chicks are handfed, they have play time on one of the gyms, learning to interact with each other and getting cuddles and snuggles from their human flock members for added socialization. These babies love to play follow the leader both on the gym and in the air!
