Bird Watching (UK)

What is this strange bird in Lincolnshi­re?

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QCan you identify this bird seen in North Lincolnshi­re? Andy C

AIt’s a partially leucistic (or schizochro­al) Blackbird, ie having a condition in which a bird has a loss of pigmentati­on to its feathers. Some, then, appear wholly white, while others can be pied, like this bird (which could conceivabl­y have had one leucistic and one normal parent). Such birds are generally thought to be more vulnerable to predators, on account of being more visible (they’re sometimes shunned by others of their species, too, so lose the safety of numbers), but there are locations at which whole dynasties of schizochro­al birds have developed. Let’s hope your bird is one of the lucky ones.

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