Leucistic robin on London’s Hampstead Heath
22/12/2008 08:40:00
Leucistic robin on London's Hampstead Heath. Credit Meg Game/RSPB
December 2008. A rare leucistic robin has attracted visitors to London's Hampstead Heath. The almost all-white bird has a patch of red and some brown too but is mostly snowy white.
Tim Webb of the RSPB in London said: "Robins are quite possibly our most loved native birds. They are usually quite tame and this one has the added ‘ahh' factor of being almost all white."
The robin was sighted by regular visitors to the Heath alongside the Tennis Courts on Parliament Hill. It regularly visits the cherry trees near William Ellis School.
"If you happen to be on the Heath and spot it, savour the moment." Said Tim. "You'd have to be a very lucky person to ever see another live white robin in the wild."
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.
This occassionaly causes very excited biologists to think they have discovered a new species, when in fact leucism is the cause of the unusual markings they have seen.
Click here to see our gallery of leucistic birds and animals
Robin factsRobins are members of the thrush family. Males and females look alike and both, unusually for birds, sing all year round, not just in the breeding season. They are usually the first bird to sing in the morning and the last to sing at night, sometimes heard very late at night around streetlights. Robins are fiercely territorial. They are admirable parents. Despite needing to eat almost half their own body weight every day to survive cold winter nights, they have been recorded feeding the hungry young of other birds, as well as their own offspring.
They start looking for a mate in January and traditionally nest in March. They make cup-shaped nests, which are usually low down in shrubs, hedges, log piles and other nooks and crannies. They are also happy nesting in boxes. In London, there have been records of robins nesting in underpants on washing lines and in 2007, a pair set-up home in a plastic Christmas wreath on a front door.
| Robins usually lay between four to six eggs. Robins are, like all wild birds, protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which means it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take them or their eggs or to damage or destroy their nests in the breeding season. Robins live relatively short lives of a couple of years but some have made it past a decade. The UK's robin population is doing well and increased 45% compared with data gathered in 1970. Robins love mealworms and other insects but also eat seeds and fruits. To help them survive the winter, people can put out meaty kitchen scraps, fat, cheese, cake and biscuit crumbs and dried fruit. Peanuts are also taken, but they are better shredded or crushed than whole. Avoid salted nuts or salty cheeses and keep bird tables and feeders clean. Supplies of clean fresh water are also crucial.
|
Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment