Because, since January 2008, I’ve been seeing a blackbird with white tail feathers I’ve become interested in them and have found out some details and of the reasons why this happens.
The name for a bird with white feathers is ‘albino’. Partial albino means a bird has some white feathers on some portions of its body.
Often other birds do not like birds that are different to them and birds will kill a bird like this (this could be why I never see this white tailed blackbird in among a group of blackbirds)
Here are some reasons why blackbirds (and other birds ) sometime have white feathers :
- Lack of a good diet
- Injury to the bird can cause this
- Circulary problems that the bird has had at the time that its feathers were developing.
- The bird is ageing and old.
- Some of the feathers do not have pigments such as melanins.
A bird that is naturally white such as a swan, is not classed as an albino bird
If you have any other information please let me know.