Throwing shade

QFRANCOIS MEYER from Centurion writes: I saw this speckled pigeon at Augrabies Falls National Park. It was part of a flock scratching around for food on the ground. I noticed the other pigeons didn’t mind being in the sun, but this one kept to the shade. Is it a true albino or does it have a mutation? If you zoom in on the photo, you can see scars on its legs similar to burn wounds or sunburn.

ABird expert LUKAS NIEMAND says: This speckled pigeon appears to have leucism, meaning it has a lack of melanin caused by a genetic defect. This explains the dominant white colouring of the bird, as well as the pale beak. However, there seems to be some pigment in the eye judging by the yellowish iris. If the bird were an albino, its eye would have been pink or red. Albino birds are rare in nature and seldom reach adulthood. Albinism is a mutation that causes the bird to produce no melanin at all. The animals are usually completely white and the skin has no pigment. There is an exception, however: Carotenoid pigments (which give feathers a red colour) aren’t always affected by albinism. The best example of this is the northern cardinal in the US, which has grey and chestnut plumage with a red beak, red crest and red covert feathers on the wing. The grey/chestnut parts of an albino cardinal will be white, but the red colouration will remain as is. Leucism is more common and can occur in degrees of severity.