Sunday, December 17, 2017

Albinism or Leucism

Is this an Alibino or is the bird suffering from a genetic condition called Leucism? The bird on the right is obviously a Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) – because I saw it foraging among Common Mynas in Tingtingbi, Zhemgang where I took this photo during my recent trip there. Except for its grayish/whitish coloring, the bird has the features of a Common Myna. But compare its colors to how a normal Common Myna is colored, on the left. I am tempted to believe that the bird is not an albino since you can see the presence of pigments. The other clue that should confirm it as Leucistic is its eye colors – they are normal colored and not pink or red that is typical in the Albinos.



Any views anybody? 

Whatever it is, it is still a bird

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. No idea about these creatures but to me, they look different.

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  3. The one on the right has its beak a bit curved compared to the one on the left. But the two looks almost identical had it not been for the color. Probably the one on the right is suffering from albinism.

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  4. Dear Sonam,
    You mean you think this is an albino? What about the presence of pigmentation? Albinos are not supposed to have pigmentation.

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