Piebald robin spotting a rare sight

A robin coloured very much like this photo has been spotted in Strome. The bird suffers from a lack of melanin, with white and black feathers instead of the normal brown and red.

“Cheerio, Cheery-up, Cheer-i-lee.” It’s the sound of spring, and heralds the return of the red-chested robin, a familiar sight in yards throughout the summer.

But if it sounds like a robin, and acts like a robin, but looks like something else altogether, is it still a robin?

That’s what Lloyd Seidel asked himself when he discovered a black and white bird in his yard.

“She hangs out with the other robins, she sounds like a robin, and she acts like a robin, pulling worms out of the grass,” Seidel says, “but she’s also something special, because she’s mostly white with a little black.”

Seidel did some research into the mystery, and discovered that his robin friend is partly albino, a term for humans and animals with a lack of melanin, or an absence of pigment that provides normal colouration.

“A true albino robin would be pure white, with pink eyes,” he says. His robin has normal eyes, and some black feathers, giving it a piebald look.

Seidel says he thinks she’s nesting in a neighbour’s yard, and he’s looking forward to seeing her offspring.

Seidel says the bird has been around for about a week and a half.

He’s learned that the bird’s white feathers, which are not natural to a robin, are more fragile than normal, which can hinder flight.

Since the bird lacks its normal camouflaged colouration, Seidel says it is also more visible to predators, like hawks and cats, so he’s hoping she’s able to stick around.