We were SO excited to see this bird in the backyard!
Here in Tyler, Texas, a "leucistic" sparrow!
(We didn't know at the time, we just had to do a little research!)
Leucistic (lew-sis-tic) is an unusual condition in birds that is so rare the word isn’t even in most dictionaries. The feathers of a leucistic bird have little or no coloring.
Melanin cells in leucistic birds never worked. The dark feathering of a bird is produced by melanin. When there is no melanin the feathers are white. This is different than albino birds.
What a great way to begin the New Year!
2 comments:
Looks like a baby Sea Gull to me, but Sis. Bach is the bird expert in our family.
Thank you for the bird lesson.
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