Leucistic crow spotted in Kendall

By Beth Abbit - Courtesy of The Westmoreland Gazette

A RARE white crow has been spotted drinking from a pond in a garden in Kendal. The leucistic crow - which is different from an albino crow due to its dark beak and legs - was spotted by at a home on Singleton Park Road.

"The photo was taken while the bird was drinking from the pond in our garden," said the house owner. "It had white feathers, black legs, beak and eyes. It was the size of a large jackdaw or crow - approximately 14 inches long. It sat on the gate and then hopped down and jumped from the fence to the pond and sat there drinking for a while. I've heard of an albino crow before but I've never seen anything like it."

Lee Hollingsworth of the RSPB said the bird is a leucistic carrion crow. "Although leucism is similar to albinism, it is a separate condition," he said. "True albinos would have pink legs, eyes and beaks whereas leucism only affects the feather colouration.

"It's caused by a lack of pigmentation and is fairly rare - I've certainly never seen one. Unfortunately they don't survive very long because they are obvious targets and they also have trouble finding mates because that is based a lot on colour."

Leucism
Leucism is a purely genetic condition which results in a partial loss of pigment affecting all the colours on the bird. Affected birds are abnormally pale or washed out and enthusiasts refer to leucistic birds as "dilute."

Click here to read more about leucism and to see our gallery of leucistic animals and birds.