Rare Albino Magpie Spotted Living In Tasmania's Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary (Watch Video)
The male bird began fledging only last year and has been unable to be released into the wild.
A rare albino magpie has been found living in the north of Tasmania. The male bird began fledging only last year and has been unable to be released into the wild. The magpie's white pigmentation makes it vulnerable to the rate of predation. While it is capable of feeding itself, the bird prefers to be hand fed. The magpie's neighbour is a yellow-tailed black cockatoo in the Trowunna Wildlife Park. Rare Albino Penguin Spotted at Poland's Gdansk Zoo (See Pictures)
ABC quoted Operations manager Darren Rumble as saying, "It was found at the base of a tree with no possibility of getting back to the nest." While it is kept in its own enclosure, it frequently vocalises with other magpies within the sanctuary. Although there are magpies with colour pigmentation, none has been found with the characteristics of albinism previously. Rumble said the chances of finding a bird as rare as this is 'one in a million'. Albino Cobra Hatchling Rescued in Bengaluru, In a First A Two-Day Old Rare Snake Was Found.
Here is the photo:
He added, "It was found at the base of a tree with no possibility of getting back to the nest. He'd be a prime target for crows or any other bird of prey. He is a genuine albino and the statistics around a genuine albino magpie are around one in a million." He further said, "You do see other forms of colour dysmorphia called leucism but that's a dilution of the dark pigment which can go into a creamy colour of the feathers, but the bird will still have normal coloured legs, beak and eyes. He's got the total absence of the pigment."
Watch the video below:
BirdLife Tasmania Convenor Dr Eric Woehler said, "We don't really have a real sense of the degree albinism in the bird population generally. We know it happens because we're getting more and more reports of these types of cases. It's more down to people being more aware of their surroundings and being able to communicate something unusual immediately."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 25, 2019 04:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).