Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
We have a special visitor at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, MN! A few months ago, I was watching the bird feeders and an odd bird showed up! At first glance it kind of looked like a cross between a Downy Woodpecker and a White-breasted Nuthatch. The body was the size and shape of a Downy, but the markings on its head just weren’t quite right. They almost looked like the markings of a Nuthatch, black on top with white cheeks. It turns out this interesting little bird was a leucistic Downy Woodpecker and I’ve been lucky enough to see it quite a bit this winter. This is actually the second winter the leucistic Downy has been a regular at the Refuge and it attracts birders and nature photographers alike. Leucism is a partial loss of pigmentation. This can cause the animal to have pale or white patches of skin, fur, feathers, scales, or cuticle but does not affect the eyes. Leucism is different than albinism; when an animal is albino they are mostly white and have red or pink eyes. Leucistic animals can be fully white, but they will not have red eyes. Since Downy Woodpeckers naturally have quite a bit of white on them, it is hard for us to know exactly how much of its coloration is affected by the leucism. Some parts that are obviously lacking in pigmentation are the head and the wings. The head is missing the black stripes on the cheeks that connect in the back. It does have the black coloration on the top of the head which I think looks like a toupee. The beak is lighter than usual. When you look at the wings, you can see towards the top they are lighter. Because of the leucism we don’t know if our Downy is a male or female. Males usually have a red patch on that back of their head.
Although this Downy looks a bit different than our others, it doesn’t seem to be negatively affected by the leucism at all. This could be because of the dominant white coloring Downies naturally have. Other species of birds may be more affected by leucism if it affects their camouflage or mating habits. If leucism interests you, look up more pictures not only of birds, but also other animals. It is quite an interesting phenomenon!
2 Comments
Loren Lucht
2/10/2018 10:46:21 am
That's really interesting. After reading the article I thought, "It seems like she's writing reports for a professor." I'm pretty sure you're not. Isn't it great to be able to write just for fun and to share it with others? Good to hear how you're doing. Our son and daughter-in-law have a new foster child, age 10. The first thing she noticed about Lynne was her llama shirt. "I like llamas too." And a new friendship was born.
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Megan Betcher
2/10/2018 05:14:15 pm
Thanks for reading my blog! I am going back to school online for a minor, but this writing is just for fun :) It is fun to be able to share these things for others! I think I would like that little girl if she likes llamas, too! Have a good weekend!
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