Unusual Coloration and Markings

Also see Albino Bluebirds

From: gene [mailto:purser"at"netdoor.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2004 5:32 PM
Subject: Strangely marked bluebird

Several weeks ago I posted about a bluebird that frequents my yard that has a large, distinct white patch around each eye. My son was home over Thanksgiving with his telescope lense and was able to get a picture of him. They are slightly out of focus, but leave no doubt about the markings.

I've had a couple of nesting boxes around my place for several years and have seen many of the birds hatched and raised. Only this summer have I seen a bird marked like this. He comes and goes with the rest of the birds as they look for food. I'm not a "professional" bird watcher, but I enjoy observing the bluebirds as they raise their families and interact with each other.
Gene Purser- Central Mississippi

From: Dottie Roseboom [mailto:rosedot"at" mtco.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2004 8:57 PM
Re: Strangely marked bluebird

Gene, neat bluebird! I wonder if an albino gene is creating the extra white??? Dottie Roseboom Peoria IL (central - zone 5)

From: Shane&Emily Marcotte [mailto:marco50"at"bellsouth.net]
Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2004 11:27 PM
R e: Strangely marked bluebird

There is a subspecies bluebird that is a resident in the mountains of southeastern Arizona with the scientific name "fulva". It is paler overall.I wonder if you have discovered some other subspecies?Most people that I have mentioned the "fulva" to tell me they never heard of it.Its in my "National Geographic field guide to the birds of North America.Dont think I have ever seen anyone here on the list from Arizona.Shure would like to see a pic of a real one.Wendell will you go down there to those mountains in Arizona and get us a photo of that subspecies? Shane Marcotte

From: Fultons [mailto:thefultons"at" everestkc.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 9:25 AM
Re: Strangely marked bluebird

Does anyone subscribe to "Birds and Blooms"? In this months issue is an article titled "Some Birds Wear White" and there is a picture of an albino female bluebird. Alot more white then in Gene's bluebird pics. Pretty interesting. Cristy Kansas City

From: KCBSP "at"aol.com [mailto:KCBSP"at"aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 7:48 PM
Subject: Re: Strangely marked bluebird

I have sent them to Kevin Berner researcher for NABS and Bernie McDaniel too  who both are involved with research.  With their permission if I hear from them I will be very happy to share their observations. A few years ago about five I 'd venture there was a pair of "white" bluebirds near me in a neighboring state, Maryland.  A group of us ventured down there and we were lucky enough to see them.  These were not true albinos as eye color  is changed in a true albino and their eyes were dark.  Nonetheless it was fun and sad thing is they were never seen again. I hope Gene keeps seeing this unique bird for awhile!!  The bluebirder that called us from MD and opened his home to us also mentioned there was a bluebird there in addition to the two white ones that had a blue body and white head.  We never saw that bird.  I am always learning and didn't know if albinism can affect just one body part actually.  Like what if there was a bluebird with white wings... I guess anything is possible.  I only know what I have seen and I'm always full of questions. I did hear from Kevin but not Bernie so far, but I wanted to clarify what he was saying to me before I asked to post it.  Perhaps they are on Bluebird L, I don't truly know.    If anybody knows about this subject just tell us what you do know.  I for one don't know it all! Kathy Clark, New Cumberland, PA

From: EHDerry "at"aol.com [mailto:EHDerry"at"aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 9:32 PM
Subject: Strange Looking Bluebird

I emailed Kevin Berner of the NYSBS and also one who does research re bluebirds the email of the strange looking bluebird..  Kevin is a professor at the State University of New York at Cobleskill.  Here are his responses.  The second was in response to my question re genetics.

****

Judy,
I never have seen a bird like that, but albino or partially albino individuals do ocassionally exist.  A few years ago someone displayed pictures of a mostly white bluebird.  I think it was in Maryland.
Kevin

****

Judy I've never taken a genetics course.  Essentially becoming an albino is the result of missing some of all of the pigment deposition in all or parts of the body.  If no pigments are deposited the light reflects off the organism as white.  I just opened an ornithology book and it says that partially albino birds usually display symmetrical patterns in the pigmentation.   Apparently albinism can have a genetic basis that can be inherited.
Kevin

***
Judy Derry
Lockport, NY (Western)
(Now wintering in AZ)

From: Torrey [mailto:torrey_canyon "at"yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 5:41 PM
Re: Strangely marked bluebird

We band an average of 8000 songbirds each fall, & we get maybe 1 or 2 a year with partial albinism. My favorite was a wren (a Winter Wren or a House Wren, i can't remember which) with what looked like a white toupee. Gene's bluebird may be cuter, tho. :-) ===== Torrey Moss Kalamazoo Nature Center Kalamazoo, MI

From: Tina Phillips [mailto:cbp6 "at"cornell.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: Strangely marked bluebird

Hi everyone,

Regarding the strangely marked bluebird, I showed Gene's pictures to Kevin McGowan, a resident expert at the Lab on bird morphology, and he insists this is not a subspecies, but instead what we commonly refer to as a "rare and unusual bird." He sees this kind of thing in many species of birds, particularly crows, which he specializes in. But he said it is not unusual to look upon a flock of say 10,000 starlings for example, and see one or two which are very pale compared to the rest. While we don't know exactly the frequency of these rare and unusual birds, we do get a lot of these types of observations from people all over the country. Additionally, Kevin speculates that the rare and unusual birds are more common than birds that demonstrate true albinism.

It's safe to see that what Gene saw is a rare mutation that is unlikely to be seen again by him any time soon. That shouldn't stop him or anyone else for that matter, from continuing to observe nature and share these wonderfully strange occurrences with others!

Tina Phillips
The Birdhouse Network
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

-----Original Message-----
From: gene [mailto:purser"at"netdoor.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 4:12 PM
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Another pic of the partial albino bluebird

My son was able to get some pics of the partial albino male bluebird after Thanksgiving and I posted them here. He was able to get another shot of him during Christmas so I'm posting this one for you to enjoy.
The first pics showed the left eye and the top of his head, while this one shows his right eye.This shot was taken through a double pane window from about 30' using a 600mm lense.

The bird continues to visit my yard regularly, so I'm hoping that he and a mate will nest in one of my boxes this spring.

Gene Purser Rankin County, Misissippi

Has anyone else read this? It's on Wild Birds Unlimited at Bird Tracks Online.

Carrier of the Sky
"The Bluebird carries the sky on its back" -- Henry David Thoreau

It would be hard to find anything as dazzling as a Bluebird standing on a fence post in the early morning sun. Its brilliant blue plumage might even be said to rival the sky itself. Too bad it's just one big illusion! It's true! Bluebirds aren't really blue . . . they just look like they are!

Most bird colorations are due to pigments deposited in their feathers. A Northern Cardinal is red because of the red pigment called carotenoids. Crows are black because their feathers contain a dark pigment called melanin. In contrast, Bluebirds do not have a single molecule of blue pigment in any of their feathers. So where does that brilliant blue color come from?

The answer is that the color is not produced by a pigment, but by the structure of the feather. The top transparent layer of each Bluebird feather is filled with miniscule pockets of air. When sunlight strikes these pockets, all of the other visible wavelengths of light are absorbed. Only blue escapes and it is scattered in all directions. This same scattering process, created by atmospheric dust particles, is also what makes the sky appear blue.

Thoreau was right . . . Bluebirds literally do carry the sky on their backs. ...

Yep, I knew it. Believe it or not, I read it in "Birds & Blooms"!

Evelyn Cooper ...

Wendell, great photos in photobucket vol. 283, sent the other day (digest 1304).

In photo # 4 there is an interesting amount of yellow behind the gape of this particular male EABL. Do you recall if that bird had that amount of yellow there? Great photos by the way.

Good birding, Larry H. Joplin MO.

BEST OF BLUEBIRD_L CLASSIFIEDS HOME | Audubon Society of Omaha | The Bluebird Box | Bluebird FAQs | Search | Contact me

All material was originally posted on the Bluebird_L or Bluebird mailing list, and has been reposted here with slight modifications to make the posts more readable in an HTML format.  In cases in which quoted material has been deleted to save space, this is indicated by an ellipsis (...)

For more information about Bluebird_L, check out http://www.cit.corn.edu/cit-pubs/email/using-lists/index.htm. If you wish to contact the author of a post, you will need to edit the e-mail address, replacing "at" with the "at" symbol (above the number 2 on your keyboard). (This change was made to discourage spammers.)

If you are the author of a posting and would like to see a particular post (or posts) removed from these web pages, please contact me with the web page address, title of post, and date and time of the post(s), and I will remove whatever material you like.  If you have a different opinion from one posted here, you need not contact me, as often I will have a different opinion too. The intent is to try and provide both sides to the issues facing bluebirders, and to do so in an impartial and objective manner.

If you have problems, encounter broken links (unless they are within an e-mail thread, as I do not maintain those links), or have suggestions on how the site can be improved to make it more useful, please contact the Best of Bluebird-L Classifieds webmaster. 

Website design by Chimalis