Birds, whales and mammals all produce albinos
Over the last 40 years, I have seen tens of thousands of sparrows – perhaps hundreds of thousands – here and overseas.
Not until I came to live in Waikanae five years ago did I see an albino sparrow. In fact, I have seen three albino sparrows since coming to Waikanae, and my neighbours have seen another two. I have also seen my only whiteheaded sparrow in Waikanae.
I can’t be sure that these were albinos because they flew off before I could see the colour of their eyes. Albino birds have pink eyes.
Birds with white feathers but normally coloured eyes are known as ‘‘leucists’’.
Albino birds have brittle feathers that make them poor fliers. That, and their stand-out colour makes them easy prey for predators, so few of them live long.
Google Image displays more than 100 photos of white sparrows from all over the world. To judge by the colour of their eyes, about half of the photos are of true albinos, the rest are leucists.
Birds of every species occasionally throw up albinos – owls, toucans, kookaburras, peacocks, humming birds, ostriches, as well as our kiwis, tui, bellbirds, muttonbirds, fantails and huia.
Over the last 40 years, I have also been on the lookout for albino hedgehogs. I have seen thousands of hedgehogs but never found an albino.
But other people have, and often, report them to local newspapers, together with photos. Over the years I have collected 25 newspaper clippings and other reports of albino hedgehogs found in New Zealand.
A surprising thing about my 25 newspaper clippings is that 22 of them come from Taranaki – between Whangamomona and Eltham. Again, Google Image has hundreds of photos of albino hedgehogs from all over Europe, including photos of whole litters of albino nestlings.
Of course, all sorts of animals throw up albinos – molluscs, fish, snakes, lizards, dolphins, whales and kangaroos. Albino rats, mice and rabbits are widely used in research labs, mainly because they are more docile than their wild cousins.
Human albinos lack pigments in their skin, hair, and eyes, and often suffer from poor vision and sunburn. Around the world, about one in 17,000 people are albinos, but the incidence differs from country to country.
In the US, the ratio is about one in 20,000, but in Sub-saharan Africa the ratio is nearer one in a 1000. The ratio is as low as one in a 100 in Zimbabwe and among some native Americans in Panama, New Mexico and Arizona.
Statistics New Zealand does not keep records of albinism here so we don’t know how many we have.
As the incidence of human albinism differs from country to country, so too does the incidence of albinism differ from place to place in New Zealand. Looks like Waikanae and New Plymouth could be the albino sparrow and hedgehog capitals.
I’d be interested to hear from any readers who come across an albino sparrow or hedgehog: Bob.brockie@icloud.com