birding-aus

Re: Albino birds

To: RUSSELL DEAN WOODFORD <>
Subject: Re: Albino birds
From: Brian Fleming <>
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 14:11:54 +1100
RUSSELL DEAN WOODFORD wrote:
> 
> More albino bits:
> 
> We have a Common Blackbird around our place with half a white tail.
> Quite
> attractive for this species.  We've had a few other with white bits,
> especially around the face, but this one is very distinctive.  I guess
> from this thread that it happens to a lot of otherwise black birds?
> 
> Russell Woodford
> Geelong
Partial albinism is sufficiently common in Blackbirds to get a mention
and illustration in Heinzel, Fitter and Parslow's 'FG to birds of
Britain and Europe'(Collins). What intrigues me about white feathers on
Blackbirds is that while I've seen many examples, I think they've all
been 'black' male birds.  Why not females or immatures? Museum of
Victoria has a skin of an all-white Blackbird - whether normal or
red-eyed I don't remember. Also skin of an all-white Song-Thrush which
had been captured and kept in an aviary. 
A few years ago there was a Common Mynah in Yarra Flats Park,
Heidelberg, which was very dilute in colour - very milky-coffee indeed
where it should have been brown.  It didn't last very long but
disappeared a few weeks after first noticed.
ANTHEA FLEMING
ANTHEA FLEMING

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU