06 May 2015

Partially leucistic House Sparrow in Al Khobar – Bird record by Mark Jasmin

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.
partially leucistic House Sparrow

partially leucistic House Sparrow