Barbara Pratt was surprised to see this little bird at her feeder. It's a nearly-white Dark-eyed Junco. We used to call this partially albino, but the correct term is leucistic.
You can see in the second photo of this unusual bird that there is a normal-colored Junco on the right. Barbara said this bird seemed to be accepted by the other Juncos. It surely is a striking sight!
Thanks to Barbara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Susan Gonzalez sent in this photo to see if she could get an identification. Ron LeValley identified it as a partially leucistic American Robin.
You can see it's not a true albino as its eyes are normal color. Still it is a very unusual bird.
Thanks to Susan for allowing me to share this photo with you here. To see two other partially leucistic birds, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/09/05/two-strangely-colored-jays/
Two photos of strangely colored Jays came in. One, photographed by Hal Fogel in The Sea Ranch, is of a Western Scrub Jay. The second is a Steller's Jay that Fred Leif photographed in Timber Cove. It is thought these two are partially leucistic, a birding term for albinism.
Both birds were shunned and even chased away by others of its kind. I think there is great value in being "one of a kind."
Thanks to Hal and Fred for allowing me to share their photos with you here.