Hello cocky! Rare yellow-feathered mutation of red-tailed black cockatoo draws twitchers' attention

ABC South West WA 

By Anthony Pancia

Updated 20 Feb 2019, 3:02am

Western Australia's bird watching community is abuzz with joy following a sighting of a rare yellow-feathered forest red-tailed black cockatoo spotted frolicking in a tree outside a regional police station.

The bird's plumage is thought to be the result of a genetic mutation opposite of albinism called leucism, which has left the bird with brilliant yellow feathers in place of should have been red or black ones.

Though not confirmed to be the same bird, a similarly marked cockatoo has been sighted and photographed just south of Perth in Bedfordale, more than 150 kilometres north of the most recent sighting in a lemon-scented gum tree outside Bunbury Police Station.

The ABC was alerted to the bird's presence by Bunbury-based environmental biologist and avid bird-watcher, Johnny Prefumo, who first sighted it in early February.

"I was driving when I first saw it and at first I thought it may have been the light, but when I twigged as to what it was I almost had a car accident," Mr Prefumo said.

"It was half by chance that I was walking past the police station and heard a big flock of cockatoos, looked up and there she was.

Continued

The black AND white bird! Wildlife lover, 62, stunned after discovering rare blackbird with 'albino' stripes

Twitcher Kim Oliver pictured the unusual bird in Coventry rummaging for food

The bird's colourings are the result of a rare plumage condition called leucism

The defect has been spotted in a number of British bird species 

By HARRY PETTIT FOR MAILONLINE 

PUBLISHED: 13:52, 26 October 2018 | UPDATED: 14:07, 26 October 2018

A wildlife-lover was left stunned after discovering a rare blackbird near his home with both black and white markings.

Twitcher Kim Oliver, 62, pictured the unusual bird rummaging for food in autumn leaves on a footpath near a busy road in Coventry.

The retired photographer said he has never seen a bird like it in over 50 years of bird watching.

Rather than being albino, the blackbird's striking colourings are believed to be the result of a rare plumage condition called leucism.

The defect has been spotted in many British birds, but almost half of all reported cases have been blackbirds.

A wildlife-lover was left stunned after discovering a rare blackbird near his home - with both black and white markings

Mr Oliver first spotted the bird last week while walking near his home in Binley, Coventry, and said it took three visits before the bird started to recognise him and not fly off.

The curious creature became so tame on his final visit that it hopped over to him so he could capture these amazing images. 

Mr Oliver said the stunning bird reminded him of a Dalmatian dog and was one of the most unusual he had come across in his five decades of bird watching.

He added: 'I have never seen, yet alone heard of, this type of blackbird. Albino yes, but not like this.

'It looks more white than black depending on the angle and it took me three visits to confirm exactly what it was. 

'It is incredibly striking. It's like a Dalmatian version of a blackbird. I've heard of albino birds but these markings were different.'

It is not known why the leucism affects blackbirds in this way- but some experts believe it could down to stress, ageing or a genetic disorder.

Ornothologist Paul Stancliffe, from the The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), said: 'To see a blackbird with the odd white feather is not that unheard of but the more white you see the more rare it becomes.

'There are only two or three reports a year of white blackbirds, such as this so it is rather uncommon.

'There are several theories as to why leucism occurs but nobody knows for sure.

Read on and watch video  

White mockingbird frequenting Little Rock yard isn’t albino, but it’s striking nonetheless

By JERRY BUTLER SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Posted: November 9, 2015 at 5:45 a.m.

Credit: Courtesy of Kathy Aday

When it first showed up in her yard in Little Rock, Kathy Aday's neighbors didn't know what to make of the ghostly white bird.

Was it an exotic winged species from another country or an escapee from the zoo?

It was shaped like a very common bird in Arkansas, in fact, the most common backyard variety, a Northern mockingbird. The mockingbird is so common in the region it is the state bird for Arkansas and three adjacent states.

Besides the right silhouette, the bird that was flitting about in Aday's area, Rivercrest Drive in Walton Heights, had the edgy behavior and the chirps and slender body, but its color was all wrong. Mockingbirds are typically gray with light underparts.

This one had pearly white feathers with dark legs, bill and eyes.

Aday was out of town when a neighbor sent her the photograph. The photo was shared on social media by her neighborhood association, and eventually found its way to Dan Scheiman, bird conservation director for Audubon Arkansas. Scheiman identified it as a Northern mockingbird.

more at ...

Extraordinary photographs of rare all-white swallow in Cirencester go viral on Twitter

By Gloucestershire Echo | Posted: September 13, 2015

Twitchers sent Twitter into meltdown after an extremely rare all-white swallow was found hiding in a barn in Gloucestershire.

Dave Sooner, 44, snapped the pure white bird near his home in Cirencester and posted the pictures to Twitter a day later.

His tweet went viral among ornithologists and Dave reckons it was a once-in-a-lifetime shot.

He said: "It's the first all-white swallow I've ever seen and will probably be the last.

"It was such an unusual bird. My phone went crazy with retweets and favourites.

"A lot of people were saying what a fantastic bird it is and how lucky I am. The battery on my phone nearly ran out."

Read more and other photos: 

Unusual redshank seen in North Wales

Leucistic redshankDennis Bannister

February 2013. One of our readers, Dennis Bannister, recently sent us this unusual looking redshank that he spotted in North Wales. 

Leucism (or Leukism)
Leucism is a very unusual condition whereby the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches appearing on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures.

Albinism is a different condition. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that in albinism the eyes are usually pink or red, and albinism affects the entire animal, not just patches.

This occassionaly causes very excited biologists to think they have discovered a new species, when in fact leucism is the cause of the unusual markings they have seen.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/redshank-wales.html