Mark Jasmin sent me a few photographs of an
unusual bird he had seen on the corniche in Al Khobar a few weeks ago. Mark had
correctly identified the bird as a partially leucistic House Sparrow, but asked
for confirmation of his identification. This bird has normal plumage throughout
except for the head that is much paler than would normally be the case. Birds
like this often do not survive long as they are singled out by predators due to
the ease of locating them amongst other birds. Leucism is not rare in birds but
it is still very unusual and makes for interesting viewing when you find such a
bird.
