NSLino vs. Opaline Lutino Similarities in phenotype appearance are very common in a line of lovebird mutations; young aviculturists will have a hard time with this, especially when faced with the same combination of mutations.
A few days ago, I received an email asking how to distinguish between NSLino vs Opaline Lutino from someone in Morocco.
In this article, I will answer the email question about the difference between NSLino vs Opaline Lutino in the genus Agapornis Fischeri.
Both phenotypes are very similar, but there are some differences that I will cite for your reference when faced with the problem of identifying the NSLino and Opaline Lutino.
You should know that the NSLino, a.k.a Lutino, is the base mutation of both phenotypes I will discuss here.
Table of Contents
It is the Albinism phenotype of the green series birds in agapornis fischeri. The mode of inheritance is recessive. This mutation has the international name "NSL ino green."
Opaline Lutino is a mixed phenotype or a cross between NSLino green x Opaline Green, so the mode of inheritance is recessive in relation to SEX. This mutation has the international name "opaline NSL ino green."
Differences in Characteristics of Lutino Fischer vs Lutino Opaline mutations
In this article, we will explain the differences between Lutino fischeri vs Lutino opaline from the color of the head, tail and rump feathers that may be helpful for classification when breeding lovebirds.
Head color NSLino vs Opaline Lutino
The head color section will cover between the throat and the nape of the neck. The main difference in NSL ino vs. Opaline Lutino head color is the intensity of the orange.
In the NSL ino mutation, the chin to the throat has a color that tends to be more faded orange with a yellow background. Yellow psittacine dominates. In the Opaline Lutino mutation, the orange color tends to be tighter and clearly separated between the throat and chin.
Turning to the back from the nape to the back of the head, NSL ino also tends to be faded in color. Yellow psittacin should dominate and can be said to be orange on a yellow background.
In Opaline Lutino, the coat's color and the neck's nape have a strict dividing line, so there should not be a transition between yellow and orange.
NSLino vs Opaline Lutino rump color
The second thing you should look out for when faced with the NSLino vs Opaline confusion is the rump coat area. The NSLino will always have a white rump feather color on a yellow background.
Whereas the color of the rump feathers on Opaline Lutino lovebirds is all yellow. While this is not an absolute, there are generally no other color accents in this area.
Tail color of NSLino vs Opaline Lutino
The third thing you need to highlight is the tail pattern between the NSLino vs. Opaline Lutino lovebirds if there is any confusion with the previous two points.
Although the NSLIino and Opaline Lutino have the same red tail pattern in this section, there is a significant difference.
The red pattern on the NSLino's tail tends to be tighter when compared to the red pattern on the Opaline Lutino's tail. Although Opaline Lutino sometimes has an inconsistent tail pattern, it is still wider than NSLino.
From the description above hopefully, it can guide you when faced with the NSLino vs. Opaline lutino phenotype.