Some times the very basic rules in budgerigars pass us by . We read them several times and still some of us don't seem to understand them fully. Sex Linkage is one of these. There are characteristics which are described as sex linked because they are controlled by the factor which controls the sex of the Budgerigar. There are five varieties which are known to be sex linked. These are Lutino/Albino, Lacewing, Slate, Cinnamon and the Opaline. The Opaline is probably the best to describe how this works, but first I will say a little bit about the word "split"
People talk a lot about what a bird is split for and what it is carrying in hidden form. This means that if you pair a bird which is split for colour or a sex linked variety to a suitable partner , that bird will produce a percentage of colour or variety that you have aimed for. A hen cannot be split for any of the above. If she does not visually show , for example Cinnamon then she can not be split for it nor can she reproduce a cinnamon offspring . She can however be split for colour. For example a green bird can be split for blue, but a blue bird cannot be split for green as green is the dominant colour. A cock bird can look like a normal budgerigar , but may be split for any of the sex linked varieties. Only test mating will tell which ones these may be.
In the following example the Opaline sex factor is used, but the same results will be show if you use the other sex linked varietys :- When it is written that a bird is Split/Opaline it means that this bird is visually a normal bird but it is split for sex linkage or colour
| Cock | Hen | Expectaions |
| Opaline | Normal | Opaline Hens
Split Opaline Cocks |
| Normal | Opaline | Normal Hens
Split Opaline Cocks |
| Split Opaline | Normal | Normal Hens / Opaline Cocks
Opaline Hens / Split Opaline Cocks
|
| Split Opaline | Opaline | Normal Hens / Split Opaline Cocks
Opaline Cocks / Opaline Hens |
Split Opaline:- Cock which is visually normal but is a split.