Albino starling spotted in Weymouth

9:00am Monday 16th August 2010

By Joanna Davis

A COMMON garden variety of bird is proving a dazzling rare sight.

The pure white plumage of this starling caught residents’ eyes as it flew over Weymouth rooftops.

Bird experts say that a totally albino starling like this pale-feathered visitor is very unusual.

The bird was spotted in Littlemoor by residents Jan and Pat Hinton.

Jan, 53, said: “We always have a lot of starlings on our TV aerial.

“I’ve seen them for years but I’ve never seen a white starling before.

“I was in the garden one day and saw this one up on the roof. It stayed there for about 15 minutes.

“It did have a slight squabble with the others but it managed to hold its own and it was still there after they’d gone.”

Pat was so taken by the unusual bird that he ran indoors for his camera.

The RSPB’s Tony Whitehead said partial albino birds are a much more common sight.

“I often see birds that are partial albinos, we have a house sparrow in our garden at the moment with quite a few white feathers.

“But to see a bird such as this starling, that’s almost totally albino, is a lot more unusual.

“Trouble is, they do stand out a bit, so let’s keep our fingers crossed this one manages to avoid predators.”

Peter Morgan, deputy chairman of the Portland Bird Observatory, said a pure albino starling is a rarity.

“There’s a gene for albinoism in a large number of birds and it only comes out if both parents carry it.

“They don’t occur that frequently in starling populations and might struggle to survive.

“Sometimes their feathers aren’t as strong because the pigment is what makes the feathers stronger.”

But Mr Morgan doesn’t think that twitchers will come flocking to see the white sight.

“I don’t think it will get bird watchers going, sadly, but it will still be of interest to many people here,” he added.

Starlings have recently become red-list species, meaning that the RSPB classes their conservation importance as high. These species, which include the house sparrow and the cuckoo, have experienced a severe decline in UK breeding population over the last 25 years.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/8332178.Albino_starling_spotted_in_Weymouth/
(Via Jonathan McGowan)