Melanistic Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Hi Mike,
There are and have been several of these birds around. Quite dramatic looking. 
Just a little correction though. It is not melanistic (which means an excess of 
melanin - or black). These birds either have a deficiency of melanin or excess 
of the yellow pigment - or just something wrong in the switching mechanism that 
causes where particular colours go). As for the "black patches on its tail 
feathers" I have had this discussion before and would doubt that they are black 
where they should be yellow. The black patches on its tail feathers are most 
likely to be on parts that would normally be black, and thereby conspicuous on 
an otherwise mostly yellow bird.

Philip