Partially Albino Male Purple Finch
Note: This item is from the archives. It was first posted in early March, 2007 ... but I thought this unusual little guy deserved a second showing. Riel.JPG)
Spring is an exciting time of year and it's when I start anti- cipating the sighting of many different birds visiting our feeders. Sometimes, some with an unusual appearance show up; 
like this partially albino male Purple Finch shown here. This male bird has a jumbled up, patched sort of appearance with white feathers here and there, mixed in with its usual colouring. The male finch was photographed in our feeder area in April, 2005. .JPG)
Notice how this partially albino finch stands out amongst the rest of the group while they are all feeding on the ground together.
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12 comments:
That is a most unusual looking bird.
Blessings,Ruth
That is very interesting. I wonder if it could create a whole 'nother branch to the species. You must have been so excited to be able to capture it.
Not hard to pick this guy out of a crowd. I've never seen one. Thanks for sharing this one.
B.
I still can't get over the beautiful birds you have where you live! Of course, if I put out bird feeders like you have, maybe I would be surprised! Thanks for sharing these cute little guys with us!
He is a beautiful bird with the white mixed in. Very unusual!
Great shots! I think these are some of the most interesting sightings in bird-dom! When I was in the foothill, I used to get then regularly, particularly in the Gray-crowned roay finches. I frequently get female house sparrows here that are cinnamon.
I don't think I've seen an albino bird of any kind. Nice photos. He looks like someone splashed some bleach on him.
Wow, what a find. Wonderful photos Ann.
Very cool find, Ann. He definitely sticks out in the crowd, but I bet he'd hide pretty darn well in patchy snow!
Amazing!!! What an awesome experience this must have been. The photos are truly fantastic.
There is no such thing as partially albino as far as i know. Albinism is a genetic condition, where the alleles are such that no pigments are produced in the body. However "partially albino" can be caused by a disease known as vitiligo that destroys pigments in areas across the body
My husband and I saw a snow white bird about a week ago. i thought it might be an escaped canary of some sort. today it showed up again and I was ready with my binoculars and camera. It's an albino purple finch. i know this because it was being fed by a male purple finch. They frequent my feeders ALOT here in Boerne, Texas. I searched the internet for info on the frequency of this but only found your blog that even mentions something close.
It was so beautiful....with pink eyes and completely snow white.....quite a sight to see.
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