Leucistic Blackbird
I was out on my bike this morning when I spotted this leucistic Blackbird. The term comes from the Greek word leucos meaning white. In leucistic birds, affected plumage appears white as individual feathers lack melanin because the cells responsible for melanin production are absent. Leucism is an inherited trait but the distribution of white feathers usually varies between adults and their offspring. This male Blackbird had wings and tail resembling a piano keyboard. Melanin strengthens feathers so leucistic feathers wear more readily and you can see it on this bird if you zoom in on the wing tip. In addition, this plumage abnormality will make it more likely to be caught by a predator. Albinism also results in white plumage as they are not able to produce melanin due to the absence of the enzyme tyrosinase. They also lack melanin in the retina of the eye making the eyes appear pink. True albinos are rare in the wild and rarely survive long due to poor eyesight. The iris of this bird does look a little pale to me so the iris pigments may have also been affected in this bird.
Leucistic Blackbird
I was out on my bike this morning when I spotted this leucistic Blackbird. The term comes from the Greek word leucos meaning white. In leucistic birds, affected plumage appears white as individual feathers lack melanin because the cells responsible for melanin production are absent. Leucism is an inherited trait but the distribution of white feathers usually varies between adults and their offspring. This male Blackbird had wings and tail resembling a piano keyboard. Melanin strengthens feathers so leucistic feathers wear more readily and you can see it on this bird if you zoom in on the wing tip. In addition, this plumage abnormality will make it more likely to be caught by a predator. Albinism also results in white plumage as they are not able to produce melanin due to the absence of the enzyme tyrosinase. They also lack melanin in the retina of the eye making the eyes appear pink. True albinos are rare in the wild and rarely survive long due to poor eyesight. The iris of this bird does look a little pale to me so the iris pigments may have also been affected in this bird.