Leucistic Blue tit in Runcorn, UK.

Leucistic Blue tit photographed in Runcorn, Cheshire

November 2009. One of our readrs, Paul P from Runcorn in Cheshire, sent us this photo of a leucistic Blue tit that visits his bird feeder.

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

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.

Click here to see our gallery of leucistic and albino animals and birds.

The leucistic Blue tit in Runcorn. Photo copyright Paul P.