Natural History Wanderings

Audubon reported on a rare white Anna’s Hummingbird that has been in the UC-Santa Cruz Botanic Garden. The bird i

has leucism, a developmental condition resulting in the loss of pigmentation. Unlike albino birds, which can’t produce the pigment melanin, leucistic birds produce melanin but can’t deposit it into their feathers. Albino birds also have red or pink eyes, but this hummingbird’s eyes are black, along with its bill and feet.

Read story at Rare White Hummingbird Steals the Spotlight at California Garden – Albino Animals and Leucistic Birds | Audubon