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Is ‘albino’ the white ID for this blackbird
white blackbird spotted in Linchfield Road, Deeping St James.
AN unusual feathered garden visitor has caused a flap among bird enthusiasts who have been trying to correctly identify it.
The white blackbird was featured in the Evening Telegraph on Monday, after being spotted in the garden of Fiona Croft at The Lees, Deeping St James.
Experts at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds told the ET the pale plumed creature was an albino blackbird.
But a keen birdwatcher who also spotted the bird in his garden at Linchfield Close, Deeping St James, has cast doubt on that theory.
Will Bowell (23), a sales assistant at Grasmere Farm butchers in Market Deeping, has been a fan of ornithology – the study of birds – since he was a child and joined Peterborough Bird Club in 2001.
The keen twitcher was excited to spot the exotic-looking visitor in his garden, but says it is not an albino.
Mr Bowell says the bird is leucistic – a condition where all types of skin pigment are reduced.
He said: “A leucistic bird is like a genetic throwback. I had never seen one before. It was a bit of a surprise.
“It was sitting on the conservatory and I saw it as soon as I opened my bedroom curtains. It looked really white and just shone out.”
Despite Mr Bowell’s theory, RSPB experts still believe the bird is albino.
Erica Howe, from the RSPB, said: “From the description and the image, I was quite certain. It can be quite hard to differentiate between leucestic birds and albino birds.
“A leucistic bird’s pigmentation loss is a lot less severe, which is why I thought that this bird must be albino.
“True albinism does mean that the bird will have no pigment in its feathers or soft parts, meaning it’s beak and eyes will be pink.
“Although the blackbird in your picture had regular coloured beak and eyes, I would say, to all intents and purposes, it is albino.”
Whatever the bird’s condition, being pale and interesting means it does not have an easy time surviving in the wild.
Mr Bowell said: “It didn’t behave like other blackbirds would. All the other blackbirds seemed to ignore it. It was keeping close to the bushes and jumped when something came close. It knew it was different and that’s how it keeps alive.”
Ms Howe added: “It is certainly true that albino blackbirds will have a tougher time of it than the regular birds. Unfortunately, they are much more conspicuous to potential predators, making them more vulnerable.
“They can also be outcast by other birds for looking unusual or unrecognisable.”
She said there is nothing specific people can do to help albino or leucistic birds, but urged people to do all they could to encourage feathered visitors to their gardens.
She said: “Getting into spring there should be a good food source about. Having said that, with such a harsh winter behind us, making sure that people put food out in their gardens for the birds is still really important and will go along way in helping garden birds into spring.”
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
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Moo
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 02:20 PMI took a picture of an albino baby sparrow that I watched the parent birds feeding.
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