They would sleep and nest in these tall stands of Australian pines and fly to other parts of the island to forage for food. As if their situation was not unique enough, fate took their uniqueness one step further. Living shoulder to shoulder with America's royalty for 40 years has created several regal members of the race. There are now a few examples of the cinnamon-yellow color mutation flying in the flock. This reduction in dark pigmentation can cause green feathers to take on a yellow appearance.
Some birds are as pure yellow as a buttercup flower.
Other examples have only an overall yellowish hue to their normally green feathers. How yellow they actually are is a function of how drastically the melanin pigments are reduced in a particular specimen. Just as there is a high degree of variability in the purity of yellow, there are other traits that are also highly variable. The normally dark, almost black pigmented flight feathers and toenails can range from a slight tan hue to almost white. Any dark pigmentation on the beak or feet is anywhere from slightly reduced to absent.