Natural Blondes

One of the joys of visiting the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary is seeing the large number of Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, and Trumpeter Swans on Wintergreen Lake.  Every once in a while, you get the rare pleasure of seeing an individual of these species that doesn’t look quite like the rest.

Leucism is defined as “a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.”

Come out to the Sanctuary and see if you can spot the leucistic birds!