birding-aus

Colour mutation in common starling

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Subject: Colour mutation in common starling
From:
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 22:03:24 +0000
As a recent subsriber to this list, I have been enjoying the 
discussion and the reports of sitings and trips. Members of the list 
may be able to help with a question that has perplexed me for some 
months. 
Last summer while walking around Lake Wendouree in Ballarat I saw a 
flock of starlings on the grass on the foreshore. One in particular 
caught my attention. The upper part of its body was essentially 
white/silver - this included head, chest, back. From memory the wings 
were dark. Suffice to say this individual stood out from the rest. It 
was clearly a starling.

A report in the nature pages on the local paper two weeks later 
reported a similar sighting in the same vicinity.

I know they can get a metalic sheen but this one was definitely 
"pied". 

Any thoughts / comments?

Geoff McArthur
Ballarat East


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