Is this bird leucistic or more yellowish in tone? Anyway, this Acorn Woodpecker has unusual plumage. These images were captured in Ashland by Emmalisa Whalley, an avid Jackson County birder. Ashland has several resident Acorn Woodpecker colonies inside the city limits.
This second image is a marvelous shot comparing the unusual bird with the usual red-headed individual.
Here’s what the species account on Birds of North America Online has to say: “Aberrant Plumages. Nonmelanic leucism, or partial albinism, occurs at a frequency of about 0.1% (WDK). More rarely, individuals in California have been recorded with golden yellow, rather than red, crowns (WDK).” So that makes this bird one of a thousand! Thanks, Emmalisa.
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Interesting. BTW – Did you ever think of a granary tree that I can photo? Ashland Pond just has big holes and I guess they throw the goods in there and then watch it every day…… m a
By: marieannette@q.com on December 11, 2017
at 10:40 am