A "" White"" Cardinal. YES, A WHITE CARDINAL.
Dec 15, 2020 13:43:35 #
LELON CUDE
Loc: Texas
I took this picture a while back, & later on in the day, i decided to name (identify) all of my pictures in my files, ( I did not realize what a job this would be). In the process of naming, i ran upon this picture that i shot on May 29, 2020.
Has anyone ever seen, or heard of, a white Cardinal? In my 86 years of existence here on mother earth, I have never witnessed, or have never heard of any thing as this. Could this be an abnormally, or ??? what??
Please advise me, or give me your thoughts,or help,expertise etc., on this. It will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
Lelon Cude.
Has anyone ever seen, or heard of, a white Cardinal? In my 86 years of existence here on mother earth, I have never witnessed, or have never heard of any thing as this. Could this be an abnormally, or ??? what??
Please advise me, or give me your thoughts,or help,expertise etc., on this. It will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
Lelon Cude.
Dec 15, 2020 13:46:55 #
Dec 15, 2020 13:47:12 #
Actually it's a Tufted Titmouse but yes, I have seen several photos of albino cardinals
Dec 15, 2020 14:01:03 #
jsfphotos
Loc: New York, NY
Not a Cardinal— a Tufted Titmouse, smallish gray bird with crest on its head like a Cardinal has
Dec 15, 2020 14:04:20 #
LELON CUDE
Loc: Texas
Thank you for your reply. I am so sorry for the wrong identity on this bird. My appologies. Thanks again. Lelon
Dec 15, 2020 14:16:33 #
LELON CUDE
Loc: Texas
My apologies. I am embarrassed for sure. Thank you "very much" for bringing this to my attention.
Dec 15, 2020 14:22:33 #
I think an albino anything has red eyes. Apropos of nothing, I saw a squirrel with blonde and white hair. Beautiful!
Dec 15, 2020 16:25:02 #
An entirely forgivable mistake, Lelon. I've made more bad calls than I care to recall and so have several big-time birders I have known.
Leucistic birds, like Great-tailed Grackles with white tails or other such areas absent of color, are often seen, but truly colorless albino birds with pink or blue eyes are not --but even then, it's not always exactly so. Here is a Sibley verified, Partially Albino Red-tailed Hawk. Note the pale blue eyes, the brownish bar, and black-tipped primaries. Nature is never simple and absolutes rarely hold up in the field.
Leucistic birds, like Great-tailed Grackles with white tails or other such areas absent of color, are often seen, but truly colorless albino birds with pink or blue eyes are not --but even then, it's not always exactly so. Here is a Sibley verified, Partially Albino Red-tailed Hawk. Note the pale blue eyes, the brownish bar, and black-tipped primaries. Nature is never simple and absolutes rarely hold up in the field.
Dec 16, 2020 00:49:52 #
joecichjr wrote:
I think an albino anything has red eyes. Apropos of nothing, I saw a squirrel with blonde and white hair. Beautiful!
We saw something similar on a recent vacation. You are correct that alabino's normally have red eyes and pinkish skin. From Wikipedia: "Albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin. Melanin is what is present in the skin and is what gives skin, feathers, hair and eyes their color. ... Leucism is only a partial loss of pigmentation, which can make the animal have white or patchily colored skin, hair, or feathers."
Here's a picture of a leucistic alligator. Notice the eyes are not red/pink.
Tim
Dec 16, 2020 08:33:14 #
Dec 16, 2020 08:50:27 #
LELON CUDE wrote:
I took this picture a while back, & later on... (show quote)
It’s caused by leucism. Google it.
Dec 16, 2020 09:57:00 #
LELON CUDE wrote:
I took this picture a while back, & later on... (show quote)
Hey you got us to look at your post by making us think you had a photo of the infamous White Cardinal, lol,
Dec 16, 2020 18:55:14 #
Dec 16, 2020 21:39:40 #
Here's a leucistic female red tailed hawk that was resident in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio several years ago. Reportedly had at least 1 hatch of "normal" offspring with a mate that had usual coloration...I saw them soaring together on several occasions. She's been gone for a couple of years now, but I think it's probably the most unique bird I ever expect to have the privilege of seeing. Lucky I had my camera on a few of those occasions.
Dec 16, 2020 23:30:48 #
LELON CUDE wrote:
I took this picture a while back, & later on... (show quote)
I have seen white Cardinals that are Albino and white ones that are not Albino. The ones that are not are Leucistic. Leucism is just a loss of color pigment. Your bird is a Titmouse. Where I live, there are some YELLOW Cardinals. Google the images.
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