As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday, 30 September 2018

Rare white hummingbird makes appearance in Hallsville



Monday, September 17th 2018, 11:04 pm BDTMonday, September 17th 2018, 11:04 pm BDT
By Stephanie Frazier, Digital Content Producer
HALLSVILLE, TX (KLTV) -
Hummingbirds clearly love East Texas and its warm weather, as swarms of the brightly-colored little creatures abound wherever there are lots of flowers, or feeders placed for them in area yards.That's fairly common; what is uncommon, though, is the arrival of a white hummingbird around those feeders.

Hallsville residents Scott and Patricia Pasche noticed one of those unique birds on a feeder on their property, and shared the video with us. The bird is easy to spot alongside its colorful counterparts (making it an easier target for predators, unfortunately), and is noticeably less active compared to the other "hummers," though it does finally fly away when satisfied. There may be a reason for that, according to birding experts.

There are two kinds of hummingbirds which appear white: albino hummingbirds and leucistic hummingbirds, according to rubythroat.org. They say that true albino hummingbirds are extremely rare, and have a genetic mutation that will not allow their bodies to produce dark pigment, or melanin. They will, in addition to having white feathers, have pink or red eyes.

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