Albino Starlings

[andy j]

I've posted a couple of pictures of an Albino Starling I took in our garden earlier this year. How common are they? This is the first one I've seen, someone told me that as they stand out so much they usually fall prey to sparrow hawks and the likes, could this be why they are not seen to often.

[StuartDH]

Here are the pics

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...php?i=2385&c=5
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...php?i=2384&c=5

We get literally hundreds, if not thousands, of starlings in our village (north Cheshire) and I've never seen an albino or part-albino yet, so I guess you've stumbled across a pretty rare find.

[Eileen]

WOW what a beautiful bird. Sadly I don't think it will survive for too long as it does stand out too much. Here's hoping it evades the preditors. Is it still around do you know?
I've never seen an albino starling before thanks for sharing your photographs with us all.

[Boddie]

These are fantastic photos. Again, can't say I have ever seen one. Definitely a rare sighting. Thanks for letting us see them

[andy j]

Sadly we've not seen it for some time. We only saw it about four times over a period of one week. I'm glad I photograghed it on the one occasion I managed to get my camera out in time. It certainly gave us great pleasure seing it in our garden, and being able to share it with others.

[mlw5844]

Hi folks,

I am located in Central Mississippi, U.S.A., and I just spotted an albino starling in our front yard. (2/22/09, 7:30 a.m. Central Standard Time) By the time I grabbed by camera and went outside, the flock was gone. I'll watch during the day to see if they return.

Mike

[jaykay]

I haven't seen one before either, the photo's are lovely, my thanks as well for sharing them

[Rob_D]

Thanks for those photos Andy, you were very lucky. I've seen a Rosy-coloured starling (with a pink body) but never an Albino!

[Rob_D]

What a co-incidence, this morning I saw what I think is a partially leucistic starling feeding on the ground in Baldock. I got a good look at fairly short range, though the light was not great. It wasn't particularly white, but very pale on many feathers. I suppose it could be a juvenile, but it didn't look right for that at all (pale rather than brown), and definitely very early for that isn't it? Looks rather like one or two photos I can see on the web.

I'll try to get a picture at the weekend if it's still around.