American robin with white patches and spots?

[MGT]

I had an American Robin in my yard today with white patches on its back and
white spots on its chest. I've never seen a colour morph like this before
and was just wondering if it's a common thing. Any info would be
appreciated.

I have a few photos I could post if anyone is interested.

Thanks

[d***@pc.gc.ca]

You saw a leucistic robin - a condition related to failure to produce
pigmentation in parts of the body. It's sort of like albinism but a
different mechanism, and seems to be more common in robins than other
bird species we see here. I saw a leucistic robin in Pasadena last
year and was sent pictures of a different one in Trout River. More
info on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism

[MGT]

Thanks for the link and info.

I saw an all white one around here last year (St. Philips) but never got
close enough to tell if it was leucistic or albino.

The robin was back again today, it's neat to know definitively that it's the
same one.

I've posted a few photos of it here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gleesons/sets/72157616833000763/

Thanks again :)

Post by d***@pc.gc.ca
You saw a leucistic robin - a condition related to failure to produce
pigmentation in parts of the body. It's sort of like albinism but a
different mechanism, and seems to be more common in robins than other
bird species we see here. I saw a leucistic robin in Pasadena last
year and was sent pictures of a different one in Trout River. More
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism