White weka a

IT might look like a seagull fossicking in the undergrowth, but this photo shows a white weka captured on film deep in the Abel Tasman National Park.

The rare white bird was seen earlier this week by DoC ranger Fay McKenzie , who was back in the park beginning to check traplines again for the first time since lockdown.

The weka’s white feathers, orange bill and legs, and dark eyes are thought to stem from leucism, a condition similar to albinism where animals lack pigmentation. The condition causes pale, or patchy skin, hair, feathers or scales. It differs from albinism as it doesn’t affect an animal’s eyes, which are generally pink or red in albinos.

Biodiversity ranger John Henderson said in his 18 years working for DoC, six of those in the Abel Tasman, he had never seen a white weka. A white bird had been seen by another ranger in the same area a few months ago and Henderson said it was likely to be the same one.

He said there were good numbers of weka right throughout the 22,500 hectare national park at the top of the South Island as a result of predator control work, but it was the first white