PigeonGenetics.com

List of Pigeon Phenotypes

The term “phenotype” refers to the observable traits or characteristics of a pigeon, such as feather colour, pattern, or body structure, which result from the interaction of its genetic makeup (genotype) and environmental factors. The genotype, on the other hand, is the specific set of genes an individual pigeon carries, which can go towards determining potential traits.

The following tables include a (currently incomplete) list of common phenotypes, and the mutant alleles that make up the required genotype.

Feather colour phenotypes

Phenotype name	Constituent mutant alleles	Photograph	Notes
Almond	Stipper, kite, T-pattern, heterozygous recessive red.
Andalusian	Heterozygous indigo, spread
Andalusian “Double Factor”	Homozygous indigo, spread
Ash Red Spread	Ash red, spread
Baldhead	Baldhead
Black	Spread
Black Ash
Black Grizzle
Black Tiger Grizzle
Black Whiteside			Black whiteside is unrelated to red whiteside.
Blue Bar	Wildtype at the b and C locus.
Blue Barless	Barless
Blue Check	Check
Brown	Brown, spread		Sometimes called “self brown”
Brown Bar	Brown
Brown Barless	Brown, barless
Brown Check	Brown, check
Dark Check	T-pattern		Sometimes called “T-check”
Deroy	Stipper, kite, T-pattern, homozygous recessive red
Dunn	Dilute, spread		In some regions “dunn” can refer to any dilute blue-based pigeon.
Gazzi	Homozygous gazzi
Gergati
Grizzle (classic)	Heterozygous grizzle
Grizzle (stork)	Homozygous grizzle
Isobel	Various		“Isobel” is a term used for various and usually unrelated phenotypes in a number of breeds.
Khaki	Brown, dilute, spread
Khaki Bar	Brown, dilute
Khaki Barless	Brown, dilute, barless
Khaki Check	Brown, dilute, check
Lemon	Extreme dilute
Orojo	Recessive red, grizzly		Note, grizzly is a gene unrelated to grizzle.
Pied	Various		Pied phenotypes are caused by a number of different genes, and many of which are currently not well understood.
Recessive Opal Bar	Recessive opal
Recessive Opal Barless	Recessive opal, barless
Recessive Opal Check	Recessive opal, check
Recessive Opal Spread	Recessive opal, spread		This phenotype is slightly sexually dimorphic, cockbirds are typically lighter than hens.
Recessive Red	Homozygous recessive red, often enhanced by spread and other darkening and bronzing factors
Recessive Red Mottle	Homozygous recessive red, others
Red Bar	Ash red		Variously called “mealy”, “silver”, etc in some regions.
Red Barless	Ash red, barless
Red Check	Ash red, check
Red Grizzle	Ash red, grizzle
Red Slate	Ash red, smoky
Red Whiteside	Homozygous recessive red, homozygous red whiteside
Silver Bar	Dilute
Silver Barless	Dilute, barless
Silver Check	Dilute, check
Slate	Smoky		Sometimes called “schalie” or “plum”
Tic eye	Unknown, often associated with dirty
Tortoiseshell	Grizzle, a bronzing factor		Sometimes called “Tortoiseshell grizzle”, “tort”, or “tort grizzle”
White	Various genotypes		Sometimes called “self white”
White Flight	Unknown pied trait
White Pattern	Various
Yellow	Homozygous recessive red, dilute		Sometimes called “self yellow” or “recessive yellow”
Yellow Bar	Ash red, dilute
Yellow Barless	Ash red, dilute, barless
Yellow Check	Ash red, dilute, check

Morphological, behavioural, and other phenotypes