What part of blackbird don't you understand? Couple are amazed to find an extremely rare WHITE version of the bird in their garden

Michael and Joan Parkinson spotted the albino blackbird in their garden

Couple, from Nottinghamshire, originally thought the bird was a seagull

Rare blackbird has been flying by garden on a daily basis to eat and wash

By Alex Matthews For Mailonline

Published: 15:17, 6 February 2017 | Updated: 15:45, 6 February 2017

A couple were stunned when they spotted a rare albino blackbird in their back garden.

Michael, 77, and Joan Parkinson, 69, couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the bird perched in their garden in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire.

But now the unusual visitor regularly flies by to eat and wash.

In an effort to tempt the bird back, the couple have left sultanas in different spots in their garden.

Video footage captured by Mr Parkinson shows the bird, which is almost completely white with a black tail, flying around and bathing itself in a mini pond.

Mr Parkinson said: 'I first saw it last August. We have a summer house in the garden and we were having lunch.

'My wife went into fetch something and I thought it was a baby seagull.

'She said 'it can't be' and then two to three weeks later she saw it. It has started to become a regular visitor to our garden.

Mr Parkinson thought the bird was a baby seagull at first but later discovered it was a rare breed of blackbird

'We left food at various spots and set the iPhone up and made a video.'

Mrs Parkinson added: 'My husband thought it was a seagull at first.

'But then one day it came onto the water feature and I thought it had to be a blackbird.

'It has a jet black tail and has an orange beak which gave it away.

'And it has a really loud squark on it too, it is so loud that we can hear it from inside the house.

'We see him every day if we are in, he is always flying into the garden for some food and to have a bath.'

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