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Leucistic mallard duck.11/11/2010 11:36:30
Leucistic mallard, taken by Charlie Hastings. This bird was seen by reader Charlie Hastings in Cobourg Harbour, in Ontario, Canada. The mallard has an unusual patchy colouration, probably due to a condition called leucism. Leucism (or Leukism)
Leucism is a very unusual condition whereby the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches appearing on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures. Albinism is a different condition. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that in albinism the eyes are usually pink or red, and albinism affects the entire animal, not just patches. Click here to see our gallery of albino and leucistic animals and birds.
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