[MASSBIRD] Leucistic junco (?)

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Carol Baird Molander

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Dec 29, 2019, 3:39:48 PM12/29/19
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My husband and I saw this dark-eyed junco among several others today. Is it a leucistic bird, a sub-species or just very light in coloring? Ebird link included.
Any thoughts?
https://ebird.org/checklist/S62734584  
Thank you,
Carol Molander

Chris Heys

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Dec 29, 2019, 4:10:02 PM12/29/19
to Carol Baird Molander, Massbird
What an absolutely stunning bird. The only leucistic juncos I have seen had interspersed pure white feathers (like is seen sometimes in AMCR) as opposed to the light wash that your bird seems to have. 
I have been before, and would be happy to be corrected again on leucistic presentation vs. aberrant patterning. 

Chris Heys
Jaffrey NH 

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On Dec 29, 2019, at 3:40 PM, Carol Baird Molander <cbmol...@gmail.com> wrote:



Josh

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Dec 29, 2019, 6:44:35 PM12/29/19
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Hi MassBirders,

I posted here back in late June that a woodpecker was visiting my suet feeder which was aberrantly pigmented. Kinda like Carol’s junco, it did not have the irregularly distributed pure white feathers typically described as “leucistic”, but instead was generally paler all over than a typical individual of its species, gray in the places where other Downies were black. I’ve followed Carol’s lead and posted photos of the woodpecker on eBird now. I first noticed it on July 25. The critter got netted on July 1 when Neighborhood Nestwatch made their annual visit. It kept coming back to my suet for a few weeks, then disappeared for a while, but what I think was the same individual returned a couple of times later. On August 18 I was able to call this woodpecker “he” instead of “it", as a red spot started growing in on the back of his head. My most recent sighting was on November 12, at which time he seemed to be getting a bit less pale and the red spot more intense, so maybe was molting out of its original paleness? My time to be at home watching and refilling feeders has been far less than usual over the past couple of months, so I’m not sure if the little guy is gone now, or still coming in, or maybe has continued converging on normal coloration to the point that I can’t so easily tell him apart from the rest of his species….

Photos from June 25 & 28 and July 1: 

August 18: 

November 12: 

Good birding,

Josh




Joshua S. Rose, Ph.D.
Amherst, MA

Vice-president, Hampshire Bird Club

Northeast Chapter head, Dragonfly Society of the Americas

Charlie

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Dec 29, 2019, 7:12:09 PM12/29/19
to Carol Baird Molander, Massbird
Reminds me of the “red” variant of the Siamese cat which is often more tan than red.  That gene is a variant of “albino”.  Wound be interesting to get close enough to see the eye color. 

Charlie Patterson 
Norwell, Ma
chas...@comcast.net

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Lynette Leka

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Dec 30, 2019, 10:52:48 AM12/30/19
to Massbird, Carol Baird Molander
how interesting to see Carol's post - I saw a junco in my yard this morning that looked just like her photo; it took me a minute of "what in the world is that bird?" before the bill and leg color, shape and behavior registered as junco, then I just assumed it was a pale, almost peachy-colored female; the back was solid color, with no appearance of contrast in the feather edges - could they be hybridization with Oregon?

------------------------------------
(by)..."not noticing birds in one's daily environment, one misses a whole segment of life on earth that can deliver joy every day." Bruce M. Beehler, 2019



Lynette Leka
Newbury, MA 01951
email: lynett...@yahoo.com




Alvin T Laasanen

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Dec 30, 2019, 2:30:44 PM12/30/19
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Following the lead of others I posted a picture of what appeared to be a partial albino Common Grackle coming to my finder briefly this summer. It had pinkish soft parts, a white head and a mostly dark body.

Alvin Laasanen
Sterling MA

Chris Heys

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Dec 30, 2019, 2:50:00 PM12/30/19
to Alvin T Laasanen, Massbird
Very neat. Does anyone reading this have a quick and dirty rundown on the difference between albinism and leucism in our avifauna?

I understand albinism is loss of melanin while leucism is loss of other pigments aside from melanin and it did not affect the eyes. But is there a way to use the terms correctly simply by observing a particular bird?

Chris Heys
Jaffrey NH

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On Dec 30, 2019, at 2:31 PM, Alvin T Laasanen <laas...@purdue.edu> wrote:



Jeremy Coleman

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Dec 30, 2019, 3:06:41 PM12/30/19
to Chris Heys, Alvin T Laasanen, Massbird
As I understand it, a true albino has no pigment at all, whereas a  leucistic individual has individual feathers or even entire tracts which lack pigment, but pigment is present elsewhere. Lack of eye pigment would be the way to figure out which is which. I have seen some nearly pure white birds that were still not albino, including a Red-tailed Hawks and an American Robin.

Jeremy Coleman
Shelburne Falls MA

Andy Sanford

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Dec 30, 2019, 3:06:54 PM12/30/19
to Chris Heys, Alvin T Laasanen, Massbird
Hi, Chris,

I’ve found the following article to be very useful on this topic:

-Andy Sanford, Marblehead

On Dec 30, 2019, at 2:50 PM, Chris Heys <chris....@gmail.com> wrote:

Very neat. Does anyone reading this have a quick and dirty rundown on the difference between albinism and leucism in our avifauna?

Spector, David (Biology)

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Dec 30, 2019, 3:15:30 PM12/30/19
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The terms "albino," "leucistic," and "dilute" are used somewhat differently by different people, and some people get very adamant that their usage is the one and only "correct" usage. Here is one useful view of these terms:
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/08/abnormal-coloration-in-birds-melanin-reduction/ .

In some cases, such as young female juncos, distinguishing abnormally pale conditions from the extreme end of normal variation might not be easy.

David Spector
Belchertown, Massachusetts

________________________________________
From: massbird...@TheWorld.com [massbird...@TheWorld.com] on behalf of Chris Heys [chris....@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2019 2:42 PM
To: Alvin T Laasanen
Cc: Massbird
Subject: Re: [MASSBIRD] Leucistic junco (?)

Carol Mo

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Dec 30, 2019, 5:59:58 PM12/30/19
to Spector, David (Biology), Massbird
Thank you to all the birders who have supplied information regarding the junco in question. Also, to the many who have shared photos and stories of unusual pigmentation in birds they have observed. We have a partially leucistic female cardinal (her brown head feathers are white) who visits our feeders. I call her”Lucy”.

Perhaps the Sibley discussion of coloring in birds best explains the possible lack of pigment, causing the junco to appear buff/light brown. It may be eumelanin of the black pigment where the “normal” junco’s black feathers would be seen.

Happy birding to all of you in 2020!
Carol

 


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On Dec 30, 2019, at 3:16 PM, Spector, David (Biology) <spec...@ccsu.edu> wrote:

The terms "albino," "leucistic," and "dilute" are used somewhat differently by different people, and some people get very adamant that their usage is the one and only "correct" usage.  Here is one useful view of these terms:

Alvin Laasanen

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Feb 22, 2021, 12:23:50 PM2/22/21
to Massbird
Yesterday afternoon I spotted a flock of about 12 Common Redpolls on my
driveway in Sterling. They appeared to be eating seeds from the grass
adjacent to the driveway that was clear of snow. This is the first time
I've seen redpolls at my place so it made for a pleasant surprise. There
were 3 still present this morning but they disappeared and I haven't
seen any since.
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