White Monjita

[Jim Chandler]

I know it sounds crazy, but is it possible that a White Monjita would come this far north, for one thing, and at this time of year?

South of BWI, saw a snow-white bird land in a neighbor's yard (100 yards away), near the road and close to a row of evergreens. Immediately caught my eye due to the rarity of completely white birds. It was not albino, nor a gull or other shore bird.

It stayed fairly still, not moving much, hopping and turning a couple of times, for a good 60-90 seconds, then left with a low flight path.

I couldn't get a REAL close look with my small binoculars, but it clearly had no facial markings, medium-sized beak, and a very distinctive black band running the length of the wing, such that there was plenty of white above and below the stripe - just like in this picture: http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-white-monjita.html

I can't find anything else that looks like it.

[David Fleischmann]

What a gorgeous bird! Has there ever been a sighting of this species in the USA?

Awesome Birding in 2017!!

Hugh David Fleischmann
Owings Mills, MD 21117
C-410-598-9292
da...@macappraisals.com

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[Jim Moore]

Hi,

Much more likely would be a leucistic individual of one of our common
species. These would look similar to an albino, but typically have some
dark feathers or other pigmentation. (Don't want to get into the
technical details of what differentiates albinism from leucism though –
look it up on the Internet if you want more info).

Good birding!
Jim Moore
Rockville

[Eric Kershner]

Have to agree with Jim. It is not that uncommon to see leucistic starlings, house sparrows, cardinals, etc.

A quick glance at eBird shows no records for White Monjita north of Bolivia or NE of Brazil.

Eric Kershner
South Riding, Va



Sent from my iPhone

[Jim Chandler]

On Monday, January 16, 2017 at 12:20:18 PM UTC-5, Jim Moore wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Much more likely would be a leucistic individual of one of our common
> species. These would look similar to an albino, but typically have some
> dark feathers or other pigmentation. (Don't want to get into the
> technical details of what differentiates albinism from leucism though –
> look it up on the Internet if you want more info).
>
> Good birding!
> Jim Moore
> Rockville
>

Yeah that makes more sense, thanks. It was a little larger than a monjita anyway - more the size of a robin. Still strange that it would have such perfectly black and symmetric markings - Leucism seems either all-white or with random pigmentation. But apparently there are exceptions... http://www.pbase.com/image/141239292

[Warblerick]

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=albino+robins&view=detailv2&&id=2014FAB980480E60D6DFE655E16BA1E386872A1D&selectedIndex=46&ccid=HuGthS3G&simid=608047081267855461&thid=OIP.M1ee1ad852dc6d783146a7773ea762371o0&ajaxhist=0

[world oceans]

Hi, It is hard to imagine that a white monjita would get this far north on its own; it appears that ebird.org shows no reports ever north of the Amazon. I don't know if monjitas are ever sold as caged birds; it would not be the first time a caged tropical bird showed up near an airport. It might be fun to check with zoos and aviaries in the region to see if any of them have had a white monjita in their collection.

It seems more likely to me that it was either a snow bunting, or conceivably a leucistic something-or-other. I used to watch lots of snow buntings in northern Maine, upstate New York, and Canada; they do sometimes look completely white, especially at a distance, and sometimes with just a trace of visible black in the wing if you are observing the bird from the front or from a side angle. The best way to determine that possibility would be to get a close look at the bill (which would appear thicker and less pointed than a monjita's), and also the tail which might show more of a notch in the monjita than in the bunting.

Fun to think about!

James Gibson

ex-SilverSpring

[Steve Johnson]

On Monday, January 16, 2017 at 11:46:22 AM UTC-5, Jim Chandler wrote:

Hi Jim, recently a "Snow Bunting" was reported in D.C. From the descriptions I was suspecting that bird was a leucistic Junco. It had a light-colored bill and was hanging out with normal black Dark-Eyed Juncos. You mentioned your bird was close to a row of evergreens, a classic location for foraging Juncos. Just a suggestion to consider. Did it have a light bill? Steve Johnson, Fairfax, Virginia