Last week, when we took a look at the life and time of the hairy woodpecker, we described the species mainly as black and white, with a checker feather and a white strip on the back. Field guides add that the bill is almost long as the head, and the male is red behind the head.
It provides details that you need to identify the drybets willosus. Except when it is not.
The day I finished writing hair commentary, I received a note from friend and Estute Wildlife Observer Leslie Martin. Lo and see, it had some pictures of a hairy woodpecker. This bird, however, definitely looked different.
Leslie wrote, “First, I could not find out what it was, but then a friend of mine contacted his bird man. He knew that it was a leukestic hair woodpecker.”
While the typical hair has black and white stripes on the side of its head, the lasely bird is mostly white. And where a typical hair is checked with black wings with white, Leslie has large white spots, with only a sign of black.
His overall form reminded me of the time when I put a bleach in a washer load of deep clothing. My black T-shirt was never again. And like that shirt, Leslie’s woodpeckers will never display colors associated with their species. But instead of chlorox, the presence of lacexi’s woods comes from courtesy of some type of internal intervention.
In fact, however, a mystery will remain.
I really wanted to provide a brief, scientific explanation of what is going on with the plumage of this bird, but after hours of combing several contexts on birds and unbalanced colors, I believe that when I started I am more confused now. And a few pounds too heavy.
I explain better.
Sitting for some quick research, I caught a dictionary and some joy kiss. Chewing the foil wrappers and chewing it satisfied, I read that luelism “is an abnormal state of low pigmentation affecting various animals … marked by a composite color or low -color patches, and is caused by a genetic mutation that prevents melanin and other pigments from getting wings, hair or skin accumulating.
I was almost ready to go with it, but, thinking that I should receive a perspective of a berder on the event, I went about all birds, reliable online source by the lab of Ornithology of Cornell University. I also made a sandwich and opened a bag of chips.
The page of Cornell on color variation in birds suggests that luximism is “not a genetic mutation, but describes defects in pigment cells that occur during development.” Hypomelanism is also listed in the article-a genetic status resulted in a low amount of dark pigment melanin, as well as age and injury as well as other possible causes of the Pale-to-common color.
These conditions were connivated under a large heading, partial albinism. Now it was an interesting development! I clearly recall years before learning that albinism is not an all-or-one. Either melanin is, or it is not.
It was determined to move downwards, I ate many more articles – and a bag of corn nuts – which is said in different ways: there is no such thing as partial albinism: there is an organism either an albino, which has a complete lack of melanin, or it is leuxtive; Lucism is defined to be roughly helpful; And partial amalanism, a local deficiency of melanin, is a favorite term.
(I also stumbled an online debate as the correct pronunciation of lucism. Some people say that Lu-Seam, other Luke-ISM.
I was just about to throw in the towel when I came to know that I am not alone in this sea of color confusion. In September 2021, Bulletin of the British Ornithologist Club “What’s in a name? Naming for Color Abbraction,” a 25-pest (and four chocolate-chap cookie) dissertation dissertation with Hen Van Groves with written references and photographs, senior curarators of birds at Natural History Museum in London.
He has been studying the subject for more than 30 years. thirty years! It is a lot of corn nuts, sandwiches, cookies and kisses.
His conclusion? If you cannot ask to make sure what is the reason for irregular color, avoid trying to name it. Carefully describe the bird and, if possible, take a photo. This is the best and possibly only a way to avoid misinterpretation that can result in using a wrong word.
Today, we can put a check by each of those recommendations. Thanks, Leslie!
I would add this trip that I have learned that birds with unusual colors are at a rate of about 1 in 30,000; True albino birds usually struggle with issues of vision, weakly plmage (melanin makes the wings strong) and high rate of prediction; And depending on the degree of variance, these issues may or may not have these issues in birds with low amounts of asymmetric pigmentation.
Leslie’s woodpeckers, you must have seen, remembering his tail. Perhaps a close call with a hunter?
I think I will sit and make that possibility a little longer. After making some popcorn.
• Palm Otto is an outreach ambassador for St. Charles Park district. He can be reached [email protected],