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This week I received a question from one of my Facebook friends. He spotted a strange white bird and asked me what it could be. I promised him to have a look and the next morning I went to the location to see if I could find the bird. As soon as I arrived at the location I saw a very shy white bird and could identify it as a Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and could make some pictures just before it disappeared in to the reed.<\/p>\n
As the complete white Moorhen had no red eyes and had a colored bill and legs, my conclusion was that it could not be albinism but leucism. Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition. It\u2019s caused by a genetic mutation. This mutation prevents the development of particularly melanin pigment.<\/p>\n
The birds do not have the normal plumage colors, but the plumage have several color changes, including white patches, a paler plumage, or an overall white plumage. <\/p>\n
Birds that show only white patches or sections of leucistic feathers are called pied or piebald. Birds with fully white plumage are called leucistic birds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n