Oddity

#38 - BlipBigYear 2014

The yard was bustling with bird activity when I got home from class this afternoon, so despite my best laid plans to immediately hit the books, I started wandering around the yard to see who was about. I never expected to find this! Amongst the dozens of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) perched in our alders was this leucistic male. Leucism is a genetic defect which prevents proper deposition of pigments in developing feathers, leading to an all white or pied plumage. I've only seen leucistic birds in photographs before--some can be quite beautiful--so this one's a kind of first for me. Birds like this robin remind me that you can never anticipate what you'll come across, and as long as you keep looking, you may find something totally cool.