Leucism

It was warm enough yesterday to sit on the porch and attempt to get some photos of birds in flight. I noticed one unusual bird with a splotchy white and black feathers. On further examination I realized that it was a Black-capped Chickadee that didn’t have a black cap.

Apparently this is a natural genetic variation in animals including birds. It is the partial loss of pigmentation of the skin, hair, feathers or cuticles. However the eyes are not affected. Leucism is not Albinism which is the complete loss of pigment, including the eyes. This Chickadee was healthy and active and spent the day feeding on sunflower seeds.

BIF Photo

I was trying to photograph a bird in flight, and this was the bird that made that possible. He’ll (She’ll) be easy to identify in the future.