The pied cockatiel has an irregular color pattern in comparison to the normal gray. The ratio and distribution of the colors defines if it is a Light pied, Heavy Pied or Clear pied.
Light Pied. The dark and gray hues dominate the yellow shades in the body. A gray cockatiel with some white markings at the back of the forehead is considered a "light pied".
Heavy Pied. This is a more favored mutation since the yellow color is proportionally more distributed than the gray, a specific balance of pattern is what breeders usually look for. The yellow will be replaced by white plumage if the bird is a white face.
Clear Pied. The absence of all the gray colors doesn't necessarily mean the bird is a lutino. A pied bird with no gray or dark color is called a clear pied. Dark eyes will reveal this phenomenon unlike the lutino which has red or pink. The entire bird will also be white if it is a whiteface mutation.
The Pied mutation is a recessive gene, if bred with a pure normal gray will produce one hundred percent (100%) normal gray chicks.
