"Gray" Ruby-throated Hummingbird (HY male) 7 Sep 2015 Covington, St Tammany Parish, LA (photo by John Owens)
Leucistic or Schistochroic HY male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Photographed at Covington, St Tammany Parish, LA, 7 Sep 2015. Photo by John Owens.
From Nancy Newfield (9/7/15) ... "This bird showed up at our weekly spring/summer/fall site this morning. Quite a stunner. It is NOT an albino, which would lack any pigment. A leucistic bird has some pigmentation, but is mostly light colored. Can't find an exact definition for the term 'schistochroic', but I think this might be one. "
And 9/15/15 ... "In person, he was slightly darker than he appears in the image. All feathers were of normal size and shape, but the tail feathers were a bit worn. As can be seen in the image, there were some blackish areas in the tail feathers where there would normally be pure black coloration. He had 2 iridescent gorget feathers that reflected charcoal gray."
"Gray" Ruby-throated Hummingbird (HY male) 7 Sep 2015 Covington, St Tammany Parish, LA (photo by John Owens)
Leucistic or Schistochroic HY male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Photographed at Covington, St Tammany Parish, LA, 7 Sep 2015. Photo by John Owens.
From Nancy Newfield (9/7/15) ... "This bird showed up at our weekly spring/summer/fall site this morning. Quite a stunner. It is NOT an albino, which would lack any pigment. A leucistic bird has some pigmentation, but is mostly light colored. Can't find an exact definition for the term 'schistochroic', but I think this might be one. "
And 9/15/15 ... "In person, he was slightly darker than he appears in the image. All feathers were of normal size and shape, but the tail feathers were a bit worn. As can be seen in the image, there were some blackish areas in the tail feathers where there would normally be pure black coloration. He had 2 iridescent gorget feathers that reflected charcoal gray."