Leucistic Jackdaw

The following pictures of a Jackdaw that has made an appearance in our village over the last few days (three) I would say is Leucistic in that the eyes beak and legs are unaffected. We have a large populous of Jackdaws and this bird does fly with the other birds but when perched is sometimes harassed by his community.


Some time ago 2009 to be exact, I posted a picture of what I thought was an Albino Red Kite, and was corrected on my comment with a further comment that it was in fact a Leucistic or correctly Leukistic colouring, and not an Albino, I did a lot of research on this subject, and found it to be a very interesting branch of ornithology.

Leucism is a very unusual condition whereby the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly and are lacking the pigment melanin. This can result in unusual white patches appearing on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures.

The main difference between leucism and albinism is that leucism only affects skin and feathers, while albinism can also affect the bill, eyes and legs.

In Leucism, either all, or just some of the pigment cells in the skin and feathers fail to develop. The result is either the entire skin/feather surface, or just patches of the skin/feather surface appearing white or paler than usual. However with leucism the bill, eyes and legs will remain the normal colour but the skin is lacking the pigment melanin

In Leucism, either all, or just some of the pigment cells in the skin and feathers fail to develop. The result is either the entire skin/feather surface, or just patches of the skin/feather surface appearing white or paler than usual. However with leucism the bill, eyes and legs will remain the normal colour but the skin is lacking the pigment melanin

Albinism is a different condition. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that in albinism the eyes are usually pink or red, and albinism affects the entire animal, not just patches. A completely albino bird is the most rare, lacking any pigment in its skin, eyes, and feathers. The eyes in this case are pink or red, because blood shows through in the absence of pigment in the irises. The beak, legs, and feet are very pale or white. Completely albino adults are very rarely spotted in the wild. They are likely easier targets for predators because their colour distinguishes them from their environment. Falconers have observed that their trained birds are likely to attack a white pigeon in a flock because it is conspicuous. A complete albino often has weak eyesight and brittle wing and tail feathers, which may reduce its ability to fly. In flocks, albinos are often harassed by their own species.

I will be monitoring this bird for as long as it stays around the village, and we do wish it well and sincerely hope it continues to thrive.