Redhead, a plumage color mutant in Japanese quail

Abstract

Redhead, a previously unreported mutant in Japanese quail, which dramatically alters the wild-type pattern, is inherited as an autosomal recessive. It is epistatic to white when both are in the homozygous state and epistatic to yellow when it is homozygous. The intensity of pigmentation of the redhead phenotype is greatly reduced by the presence of either the albino or dilute genes.