White markings on Blackbirds?

[Guest little_lloyd]

I was driving earleir,, Past the village green,, And im noticed a black bird by the side of the road with a compeltely white head Is this common on a rare thing. I wish i stopped for a picture now.

[the_stig 6,614]

I was driving earleir,, Past the village green,, And im noticed a black bird by the side of the road with a compeltely white head Is this common on a rare thing. I wish i stopped for a picture now.

had one in my garden for years white body . one for jd , martin , or ditch thy be sure to know . Edited April 24, 2008 by the_stig

[Rolfe 2]

Not common LLoydy............but not that rare either.

I have seen many white " Varigated" blackbirds over the years.........some with a little white ....others with a lot.

I have also had a white "Grey Squirrel"............but as yet...........not a white mole.

 

 

Rolfe.

[Ossie 11]

there's one that lives by our village shop, white head with black speckles. we've had 'em round here for years.

[Stabs 3]

One of my first eggs for my collection was from a nest in a low bush on a dirt track near the Chapel in Eldon and that was from a blackbird with white patches.

 

'course I told everyone was it was a Ring Ouzel

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

'course I told everyone was it was a Ring Ouzel

 

 

Mate of mine had a Whitethroats egg. But, after studying the Observers' and a fair bit of discussion, we managed to quite convince ourselves that was wrong. It was in fact a Dartford Warbler! And this barely fifteen years after they'd virtually been rendered extinct in the New Forest - near which he'd never set foot anyway

 

Ironically; That was in Portsmouth. And, last I ever knew, they were probably nesting there for real, having made an immense recovery and range expansion over the course of some thirty years or so.

 

 

LL; Unpigmented feathers are most widely noted in Blackbirds. I don't know what causes it.

 

Strange thing is, we don't see it in their closely related kin of the genus Turdus. So it can't be put down as 'A Thrush Thing'. It's seemingly a definate 'Male Blackbird Thing'. Oddly enough, I know a nature reserve where a whole family of resident Carrion Crows carry varying quantities of pure white feathers. I've also noted it a fair bit in House Sparrows, of either gender. With those though it's normally a single wing or tail feather.

[scar 0]

we have a hen blackbird here who has a couple of white tail feathers she's been a frequent visitor to the garden for the last couple of years

 

where i live the area is well known for black squirrels (grey) quite a common sight here along with black bunnies and a few black and white rats which we have seen

Edited April 25, 2008 by scar

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

That's bloody interesting, Scar! Albino gray squirrels hardly excite me any more but, black ones? Haven't seen one of those in real life.

 

Common sense says it's purely coincidental, of course, that ye finding melanism amongst both the squirrels and the rabbits there. Black and white rats? God only knows.

 

I wonder about that Blackbird too. Obviously she'll nest locally. Not noticed any of her apparrent offspring inheriting a dash of white then? I was just pondering, last night, what may cause it. Seems more likely to be something in the blood, rather than an enviromental factor, post hatching, doesn't it? I'm sure I haven't a clue. Perhaps somebody here's read something on it somewhere? Be good to know.

[scar 0]

Ditch the black squirrels were so say first spotted in letchworth garden city in the 1950's there supposed to be the largest colony there , and have gradualy spread around the areas . I moved here four years ago ( bedfordshire) and am in the sticks it was my partner who came back after walking one of the dogs in a wooded area last summer, she came home all excited as she had seen a black squirrel!!! i said it was proberly a melenistic (sp. lol) coloured one , she said it was a black . Well a few weeks later we were both walking down the same area when i to spotted it ,it looked black but had a reddish tinge to it , but i know it was not the greys smaller cousin the red but a black grey squirrel. On returning home i did a google search and came up with the letchworth story. I took my grandaughter to woburn safari park back in february and what did we spot running up a tree in the wolves enclosure but a black squirrel !!!!.

As for the hen blackbird i saw here gathering leaves and twigs a couple of weeks ago , and saw her in the garden two days ago but she was on her own, i'm hoping she will appear with her fledglings , but we already have a young blackbird family in the garden at the moment .

As for the rats i can only think that maybe a pet or two that people did'nt want were realeased and have survived and bred . We also get a lot of muntjac deer here to .

[fellman 116]

the bridge in maryport had a white sparrow nesting in it many years ago and i mean 90% white

also manchester university has a part white blac bird in residence........seen crows and deer too but not a lot of them !

yis fellman

[Neal 1,869]

I heard about those black squirrels recently, though I can't remember if I read it or saw it on TV. Apparently, they are ousting the greys as they are more aggressive, even though they are merely melanistic greys themselves.

 

As for the blackbirds, I've seen quite a few with one or two white feathers, usually in the wings, but where I live now there's one with white around the head. You'd think they'd be bred out as a result of being more conspicuous but I suppose the hens must like something about them.

[Guest little_lloyd]

There was a Jackdaw with white spots and markings in my garden last week.

[waz77 15]

Ive got a young sparrow just started visiting my garden a few days ago that has mainly white wings and tail.And in the fields behind my house there is litter of young rabbits,6 in the litter 4 of which are black,then about 6 weeks later another litter were born with another 3 blacks,now its not uncommon to see blacks but ive never seen that many together,and they are wild rabbits not from an escaped pet.And year before last there was a magpie coloured rook up in the fields,saw it a few times but then it disappeared.Must be something in the water round here