The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Reference this record/photo by Ian Ellis about the white Swallow at Frampton in the Boston Standard. Its a very interesting record.

Perhaps an experienced member could put a bit of "flesh on the bones" especially for our younger/newer members please and discuss the difference between leucistic and albino?

I personally recorded an albino Swallow at Butterwick in my younger days in the Autumn of 1971 but its a very long while ago and I certainly had
more hair!!!!!!!!


Regards to all


George Bishop

George,
Your post reminded me that I wasn't sure of the difference so I contacted my mate Google! If you type in "Leucism and albinism - British Trust for Ornithology" it brings up a very comprehensive explanation.
Stuart

There was also a paper by Hein van Grouw in British Birds (Jan 2013) - see e.g.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication ... s_in_birds

This gives more detail on the chemistry and genetics behind colour aberrations. It points out, amongst other things, that true albinos which lack all melanin rarely survive long in the wild but that a different aberration called ino, which involves melanins being present but failing to produce pigmentation, also results in birds with near-white plumage and reddish eyes but with better eyesight than an albino and capable of better survival.

None of this will stop people referring to any bird with a bit of unexpected white in its plumage as an albino, as a Google search for e.g. albino swallow or albino blackbird will confirm.