Leucistic Gray Catbird
Leucism is characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals. Unlike albinism, leucism is caused by a reduction in all types of skin pigment, not just melanin (Wikipedia). Leucistic animals usually have normal-colored eyes; albinos' eyes often are pink. Frequently, like in this catbird, with its white throat and bill tip, leucism is patchy, resulting in regular-colored animals with patches of white. This condition is called partial luecism. I banded and released this Gray Catbird near Northfield on 19 September 2011.
I just wrote about one of these guys I had in my yard in Maine a couple of summers ago (www.burlybird.blogspot.com), so cool to see you had one too!
ReplyDeleteHappy birding!
Thought you might like to see the one we had hanging around this past autumn;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/72163737@N07/10076168834/
Greg Miller