Saturday, April 03, 2010

Everything's all white

Leucistic Woodpigeon

Well, OK, not all white, but this is the whitest Woodpigeon I've ever seen.

There have been loads of Woodpigeons around this winter, munching their way through local oilseed rape fields. Today was the first time I've seen this beast, with its white back end and wishy-washy head and breast.

It stuck out like a sore thumb from its grey colleagues - this looks like a case of leucism to me. Here's what a normal Woodpigeon looks like.

There can't be many Woodpigeons around that look like this. So have you seen it? It'd be really interesting to find out how far it travels!

photo taken with Canon Powershot A640 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20x eyepiece

2 comments:

  1. Geez, I have never seen a Woodpigeon with any type of aberrant plumage, let alone an almost white one. This must be quite rare and quite a sight as well.

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  2. It's certainly a distinctive bird. I'm hoping someone else will have seen it - I bet it wanders quite widely.

    Local farmers certainly won't be pleased to see it and its friends, though...

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