We have a group of goldfinches that visit our garden in Sussex for the niger seed. The group includes adults and juveniles... and this bird with an almost completely white head. Is this normal?
Hi Andrew and welcome from me in Lancashire.
What a lovely looking goldfinch, and I believe Doggie is right in saying it has leucism. Members of this forum see quite a few leucistic birds knocking about. I've had a gorgeous jackdaw, a redpoll, and a sparrow in my garden. I've posted photos of them HERE in my flickr account if you want to see them.
Thanks Alan for the quick response. I first spotted this bird a few months ago and it has been bothering me ever since. But I got an explanation within within minutes of joining the forum! I also completed the BTO survey... and look forward to seeing the results, and finding out about the prevalence of leucism.
Thanks... I love your jackdaw photos!
Hi Andrew - he's a little beauty and it's always nice to know you are seeing the same bitd each time and that they are thriving and doing well.
This is a leucistic bird. Nothing wrong just a genetic disorder
www.wildlifeextra.com/.../devon-leucistic-crow.html
Genetic in the case of the Goldfinch in the original post. But with the crow in your link, the abnormal coloration is more likely to be developmental, and caused by poor nutrition during the nestling period, while the feathers were growing. In this bird, individual feathers have pigment loss midway down their shafts, but normal coloration at the base and tips, and only the long feathers are affected. This is a common condition in juvenile Carrion Crows, especially in urban areas where optimal diet is difficult for the parents to come by, but typically the bird's plumage will regrow normally after the moult (this doesn't happen with genetic leucism - those birds will regrow their white bits moult after moult).
Here's a pic of a Carrion Crow showing a very extreme version of nutrition-related leucism: http://www.portlandbirdobs.org.uk/bp_carrion_crow_2_301010_500.jpg