The beak
>>and legs were horn coloured, the eyes pinkish, most of the plumage a
>>washed out pale buff-grey, but the white and yellow feathers quite
>>normal. Is this a "leucistic" bird, or just a "negatively melanistic"
>>bird?? ;-)
>>
>>
>It sounds like this bird was lacking in black melanin but not brown melanin,
>a condition which has been described Campbell & Lack's Dictionary of Birds
>(Poyser, 1985). The learned term for this abnormality is (wait for it):
>"eumelanic schizochroism". I can't say I often use this expression in
>everyday conversation...
>
>Danny Rogers
Aviculturalists would call it a 'cinnamon'... but Danny's name is more fun.
With the pink eyes it is most likely to be transmitted as a sex-linked
recessive gene. Cinnamons are usually amongst the first 'mutations' to crop
up when wild birds are closely inbred and there is increased likelihood of
what ever recessive genes both parent birds are carrying being manifest
visually in their offspring. I've had a blackbird with "eumelanic
schizochroism" brought into my vet clinic.
Pat Macwhirter
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