Albino or Leucistic Woodpigeon

A pure white bird landed on my bird table this morning. Pigeon type. At first I thought it was a feral pigeon but it appeared too large, slimmer in appearance with a longer neck. Could this be a leucistic or albino Woodpigeon I wondered. This identification seemed more probable when a regular plumaged Woodpigeon landed on the adjacent fence and I was able to compare the two birds in close proximity to each other.

Everything pointed to Woodpigeon as the correct ID apart from the pure white colour.  Albinism is another genetic condition that can turn a bird's plumage pale but there are distinct differences between albino and leucistic birds. Leucism affects only the bird's feathers and typically only those with melanin pigment - usually dark feathers. A leucistic bird with different colours may show some colours brightly, especially red, orange or yellow, while feathers that should be brown or black are instead pale or white. Some leucistic birds however can lose all the pigment in their feathers and may appear pure white. It's a complex puzzle.

So, leucistic or albino? I really don't know...

   

Pied Jackdaw

Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird's feathers. As a result the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colours listed in field guides. The plumage may have several colour changes including:

• White patches where the bird should not have any
• Paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached
• Overall white plumage with little or no colour discernible

Birds that show only white patches or sections of leucistic feathers - often in symmetrical patterns - are often called pied or piebald birds.

We have a fair number of Jackdaws Corvus monedula in our locality. They are regular visitors to the bird feeders, particularly the fat balls. Early this morning as I stood at the kitchen window, I suddenly noticed a most unusual 'pied' jackdaw on a platform feeder near the garden fence. I managed to get to a camera with a decent zoom lens - Nikon P510 - and fire off a few shots before the bird flew off. Not brilliant but they do show a degree of leucism in this bird that I have never seen before in a jackdaw.

A nice start to the week....