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white mystery bird (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
I saw this white bird walking around my yard. It was exibiting juvinile behavior. . . flapping it's wings to be fed. I believe it was a grackle that was feeding it. I did manage to get a pic, so lets see if anyone thinks it's an albino something. . . if there is such a thing in birdland.
 

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A near-albino (not quite a pure albino, that would have a pink eye, and this at least appears to have a dark eye). If it was being fed by a Common Grackle, then it would be that species.

Once independent from its parents, a tricky ID problem though - you'd need to check size, structure, tail shape & length carefully to tell it from Baltimore Oriole, Rusty Blackbird, RW Blackbirds, etc.

Unlikely to last long in the wild though, as it is a highly visible target for every predator in the area, at least until the winter snow comes!

Michael
 
It appears to be a leucistic type bird. This is more common in the blackbird family than what was previously thought. A true albino in wild birdom is still rather rare. Leucistic birds are much more common. They have been seen in over 75 different species of birds in the USA alone. Some include hummingbirds, blackbrds, ducks, robins, jays, finches, doves, cardinals, sparrows, etc.
 
Thanks for all the info. I'm very new to birding and this looks like a terrific place. I've been poking around reading all kinds of things. Candice, my dictionary didn't even have leucistic in it. . . I had to look it up on the net. Many thanks, Barbara
 
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