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Turdus migratorius
I'm assuming this is a leucistic American Robin, but my friend is saying that it doesn't sound like a robin. A little help confirming, please.
Leah, the bird referred to in the article you've linked is a leucistic American robin, Turdus migratorius. However, the scientific name you've given is for a bird species called the white-headed robin, which is native to Africa! It's a good example of why we use scientific names, as many times the same common name is used for different animals. At any rate, this is an interesting spotting! Partial leucism like this is actually quite common in birds, it's called piebald (also a "pied" appearance). You see it a lot in feral pigeons :) I've never seen it in an American robin though, cool!
This has been a great year for spotting the oddities in nature. I found a technicolored frog in my koi ponds! LOL
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/114...
I wonder if the "climate change" has anything to do with the emergence of so many genetic changes and oddities.
Yes, Leah. But I don't think it's a White-headed Robin. Unless, I'm missing something.
Thanks. Brandon and Keith.
Leah, I think its leucistic per the link to the article you provided. I hope that it is not a bird someone has transported from the Congo and released. But anything is possible. I doubt it flew here.
Leucism is a condition that probably develops while the bird grows in its egg. The gene that controls skin-pigment cells called melanocytes turns on in some cases, but fails in others. The result is partially normal coloring with patches of white.