Big Papa was looking out the window into our little back yard when I heard him call: Come see this bird! He (or she) was standing on a branch in our Greengage plum tree next to another bird who looked just like him…except that he was a shade of cream and the other bird was covered in brown stripes.

At first I thought it might be an albino bird, but after doing a bit of research in my bird book I figured out he was a leucistic bird. Leucism is a genetic mutation that prevents melanin from being deposited normally on feathers, whereas albinism is a genetic mutation that prevents any production of melanin in the body. Some leucistic birds have white patches on their body and others, like the bird in our yard, are a light cream color. Leucistic birds have dark eyes and legs but albino birds have pink eyes because without melanin, the only color in the eyes comes from the blood vessels behind the eyes.

Leucism is relatively unusual in birds (and albinism is very rare). From 2000-2006, Cornell University’s Project FeederWatch reported 5.5 million birds per season and fewer than 1000 leucistic birds which means only 1 out of 33,000 birds is leucistic! Our bird was one rare bird indeed.

Leucistic Pine Siskin

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