Subject: Re: albinism
Date: Mar 20 12:37:51 1995
From: Jon Anderson - anderjda at dfw.wa.gov


"Fright Molt"

Stuart noted fright molt as common in his British Blackbirds. The
species that I notice this in is our own Rufous-sided (Spotted) Towhee.
I have banded quite a number of this species. The individuals 'molt' or
shed copious amounts of body feathers when being released from a trap or
mist-net, when being handled for banding and/or measurements, and
generally leave a trail of body feathers in the breeze upon release.

I have never noted white or whitish replacement feathers upon recapture
or upon observation at the nearby feeders.

This spring, I have banded one male "Oregon" Junco which had a small
number of white feathers on his black head and face. These white
feathers were not in any pattern, but appeared to be random, as opposed
to most of the other partial "albinism" I have seen in the field.

Good discussion on an interesting topic.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, WA
anderjda at dfw.wa.gov