Sponsored by
That’s white, it is a blackbird
A BLACKBIRD with an identity crisis has got residents in a flap after making an appearance in a back garden.
The rare albino bird – which rather than a traditional black plumage is covered with white feathers – was spotted by reader Fiona Crofts (26) in her garden in The Lees, Deeping St James, near Market Deeping, last week.
Fiona said that while her garden was a regular haunt for blackbirds, she had never seen an albino bird before.
She said: “When I first saw it, I thought it was some kind of dove because it was completely white.
“But when I put my glasses on I realised it was a white blackbird.
“I have never seen anything like it before. I could not believe it. I have since found out that he is an albino bird, which are very rare.
“He was just sitting on the fence, on his own, before he jumped down beneath the bird feeder for something to eat.
“I watched him for about five minutes. It must have been a fleeting visit because I have not seen him since but I am keeping a look out for him.”
Albino birds are white because of a lack of melanin pigment in their feathers due to the absence of an enzyme involved in its production.
Erica Howe, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said albino blackbirds were quite rare in the wild.
She said: “The problem albino blackbirds have is that they stand out quite a lot.
“This means they are vulnerable to predators such as cats, foxes and larger birds of prey and are easily targeted.
“They may also struggle to find a mate but this is not always the case.
“Albinism occurs in more than 160 species of birds in Britain and tends to be genetic – passed on from parents.
“Nearly a third of albino birds in Britain are thrushes and blackbirds, but they are still quite rare.
“There are different levels of albinism in blackbirds. Some are completely white, while others have only a few white patches or feathers.”
Factfile... on Albinos
Almost every vertebrate animal species in the world has been recorded with albino variations.
In 2001, the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society was formed at the University of Texas in America after students believed it was lucky to see one before an exam.
The society now has members all over the world.
Famous albino characters include sperm whale Mocha Dick, the inspiration for Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, and Griffin, the Invisible Man in HG Wells 1933 novel.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: West
Comments
There are 5 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
fedupwiththephantomdeleter
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 08:21 AMComment removed by moderator
Fiona Crofts
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 03:37 PMDear AliV Just to confirm I took mutiple photos of this blackbird in my garden on 3rd March. The only editing done is that it has been cropped and lightened as it was a dull day. There are other pics out there of similar birds if you do a search on the flickr.com website so they do exist. If you want to see further photos I took of it feel free to have a peek on my flickr site, user name beaker1983.
AliV
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 10:22 PMPhotoshop!!!!1
Dalek Sec
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 11:07 AMOutcast - there is a nice picture of it on page 3 of today's paper.
Outcast
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 10:24 AMKewl but you know the saying here on t'internet........... PIX... or it didn't happen !!
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.