Unusual bird spotted near Osakis

By Al Edenloff on Jan 20, 2015 at 7:32 a.m.

Jim and Gail Trutwin have had an unusual guest at their home on Smith Lake west of Osakis the past couple of months – a white downy woodpecker at their suet feeder.

The bird’s unusual coloring led the Trutwins to believe it may be an albino woodpecker but its eyes are black, not the tell-tale pink associated with albinos.

Also, the bird isn’t pure white; there is some color in the feathers. According to information on the National Audubon Society’s website, the bird could be a partial albino or it could have Leucism, a genetic mutation preventing melanin, which affects a bird’s coloring.

Source

Look at This Angel Bird!

Michelle Gaggiotti, who lives in Virginia Beach, came across this little bird that looked like it flew off an artist’s canvas right outside of a 7-Eleven on Dam Neck Road.

Gaggiotti even ran home to get her camera to snap this and several other photos of the angel bird.

In the bird world, this little one would often be called leucistic (partial albino) since it is not a true albino-- pure white with pink eyes.

Notice the pale yellow spot on the side of its breast. It also had a yellow spot on its other side and on its rump, Gaggiotti said.

The subtle yellow coloring led Gaggiotti to the assumption that the lovely creature is a yellow-rumped warbler.

“Very friendly too,” she said, “and allowed close-ups!”

It’s a wonder that a pristine beauty like this has lived for as long as it has because you would think it would be an easy target for a predator.

But if it makes it through mating season, we may see more little white yellow-rumped warbler beauties in the area.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/03/look-angel-bird