Rick Romea writes:
>
> Yesterday (Sunday, Feb 9) I saw what appeared to be a partially albino
> (?) black-capped chickadee at my feeder in Wedgewood, Seattle. The
> bird was mostly white, with 'ghostly' gray markings where the black
> usually is. I suppose this is unusual but not astounding.

Over the past few years I've noticed what appears to be an increasing number of
Black-capped Chickadees with white or pale upper wing coverts and possibly some
secondaries. This is not albinism but something seems to be going on, unless
museum specimens suggest that a percentage of the population is always marked
thgusly.

-------Herb Curl
>
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