discussion Brown and white Magpie?

[Miko]

I used to be an RSPB member before some of their choices and policies i couldn't reconcile in good conscience, and been a bit of a 'twicher' most of my life but today I had a first, a brown and white magpie!! where the black bits on a regular magpie were pale sort of caramel coloured brown with a white tail!
Is this a thing? Never seen one before.

Should it be called a 'magskew'? A black and white horse is called 'piebald whereas a brown and white horse is 'skewbald.

Miko (seen an albino all white Blackbird a few times)

 

[yak face]

A leucistic magpie ,fantastic ! yes very rare but not unknown . The blackbird you saw was probably the same , leucistic animals have reduced pigment but dont have the pink eyes or white skin of albinos . I once saw a pure white crow but didnt get close enough to see which he was .

 

[Miko]

A leucistic magpie ,fantastic ! yes very rare but not unknown . The blackbird you saw was probably the same , leucistic animals have reduced pigment but dont have the pink eyes or white skin of albinos . I once saw a pure white crow but didnt get close enough to see which he was .

Thanks! Now it know, how weird that mother nature throws up such anomalies!
And you're right about the blackbird too, it had dark eyes and yellow legs, I just didn't know the correct term.

A white crow! Wow, there's a sight to be seen!

Miko (missus Miko has 'thing' for corvids, it's part of her inner goth!)

 

[Tim Marlow]

Well here’s one in dazzle camouflage …….



Leucistic animals are much more common than albinos. Pure albinos probably don’t live long in the wild because one of its characteristics is poor eyesight which would make them easy meat for predators.

Genetics can throw up some startling anomalies, of which my favourite is the Chimera cat.



They have two completely different DNA sets for each half of the animal. Very rare though.

 

[Gern]

Well here’s one in dazzle camouflage …….



Leucistic animals are much more common than albinos. Pure albinos probably don’t live long in the wild because one of its characteristics is poor eyesight which would make them easy meat for predators.

Genetics can throw up some startling anomalies, of which my favourite is the Chimera cat.



They have two completely different DNA sets for each half of the animal. Very rare though.

Don't some chickens turn out half - and - half like that? I'm sure I saw something about it on QI.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Don't some chickens turn out half - and - half like that? I'm sure I saw something about it on QI.

Can’t find any images, but apparently they do exist Dave, usually man made to improve the breed. They even exist in humans. Not that obvious, because the skin tones don’t show differently except very rarely. However, it seems anyone you know with two different coloured eyes are chimeras. Bowie comes to mind, as does a girlfriend of mine from my early twenties.

 

[yak face]

Don't some chickens turn out half - and - half like that? I'm sure I saw something about it on QI.

No youre thinking of Pizza dave

 

[Gern]

Chicken pizza??? Nnnnooooo!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Chicken pizza??? Nnnnooooo!

But that means no Pollo ad Astra ……..all the more for me then…..