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Matthew Stewart
Lake Country, BC, Canada
Despite receiving nearly 5.5 million submissions per winter, only 1605 Project Feederwatch submissions, between 2000 to 2007, detailed unusual-looking birds! So I am enthusiastic to submit my own record of an unusual looking bird! This is a photo I took of a leucistic American robin. Leucism is a rare pigment-related condition. It is thought to be genetic in origin, but apparently the etiology of it is still up for debate. Personally, I had never heard of leucism before taking this photo, so I was baffled by the appearance of this bird. Upon inspection, its morphological features were clearly in line with those of an AMRO, except for it’s plumage of course. I went on to discover that this robin has leucism, and as an amateur photographer/ornithologist, I was thrilled to find out that I had captured something quite uncommon. But as many of us are aware, plumage coloration contributes to fitness. So as I wondered whether or not this particular subject would go on to attract a mate and live a prosperous life. My rudimentary understanding of darwinians principles has led me to the unfortunately realization that it would probably be unlikely. Nonetheless, I am pleased share this photo with our community and I hope you enjoy it!
taken on a sony A7R2 with a 100-400mm G master lens.
Category 8: Potpourri
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