Beware the Mutant Crows!

in #photography7 years ago (edited)

From a distance, I first thought this was a hooded crow* (Corvus cornix), bonte kraai in Dutch, because of the lighter bits, but on closer inspection, the pattern was all wrong:


Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s

It turned out to be a "normal" carrion crow (Corvus corone), zwarte kraai in Dutch, with leucism, which is:
"a genetic mutation causing partial loss of pigmentation, resulting in white feathers, but not affecting the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin."

Animals with leucism don't have to avoid bright sunlight and they often are aggressive against non-leucist animals, so, unlike albino animals, they have no problems surviving in the wild.

Apparently, we have a small population of these in a nearby forest.

Beware the Mutant Crows!

*For comparison: @leylar posted a photo of a hooded crow here.

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I've got this picture of a leucistic blackbird from a few years ago. I find it intriguing.

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I see these crows a lot in Holland, some with more white than others, really pretty (:

Nice find. There was an all white crow near here a couple of years back (unfortunately I did not get to see it)

He looks very wise, this raven!

I think he was posing for me as a wise raven.

Wow this is nice photography

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Nice picture, you are lucky to see it. Thanks for the info on the photo too.
@tincanjucntion

Bird Leucism is creeping up in lots of other birds as well. It is thought to be caused by stress and also by damage to the feathers, but like us humans who have more grey hair after living a stressful life. Leucism is a serious threat to bird populations. Why? This causes a number of significant problems in the life of the bird. 1. Mating with other birds is decreased because of the different coloration. 2. Birds with more or all white/light color features cannot keep warm with the sun as they normally would? Why? the white of the feathers reflect heat away from the bird which is dangerous in colder seasons. 3.Their damaged feathers are easily destroyed and makes it very difficult to fly at faster speeds and/or for longer periods of time. Studies show that our eco system, global warming, pesticide use from home owners and farmers are causing great stress on animals, not just our bird populations.