Pretty unusual I'd say, I don't recall ever seeing one like this. Where did you see it at Barnes? I might go and have a look myself...
[They do happen and these hybrids have yellow soft parts.../COLOR]
Yellow soft parts?????????
Seriously though, have seen this bird (or one like it!) many times at Barnes.
Hello Poecile.
Didn't say that they were. Said that they could be. I agree with you that these are just aberant Moorhens...
Have a good day/night.
Dimitris
The Barnes bird seems to be moorhen with unusual bill colours, the Cambridge bird a hybrid Moorhen x Coot. Compare with these:
http://www.nioo.knaw.nl/SCOPE/Hybride/hybrid2.html
I don't quite get what you mean. But by soft parts one means the legs, eyes, beak etc (i.e. anything that's not convered by feathers.) That's how I've used this term so far anyways.
Cheers,
Dimitris
I do wonder about these birds, are they merely leucistic or can we call them xanthochromistic (or however it's spelt)?
Anyway as I understand it there is usually a genetic cause to the discolouration, although diet can be a cause if the bird is poorly nourished, but that one looks fine to me. They're not terribly common, not so unusual either.