I have very little to go on here, but in the yard around my feeder this
morning (after the night of high winds) I saw a bird that I at first thought
might be a leucistic goldfinch, due to the solid white body with black
markings on the wings that seemed to fall in places where they would on a
goldfinch. But the bird is bigger, and seemed to spend more time on the
ground than in the elevated places where I see it on goldfinches. There was
only the single bird of its kind, and the others that were around at the
time were the usual juncos and perhaps some pine siskins (I didn't look
closely because I hadn't been in the process of observing until the white
bird caught my eye and then it had my full attention). I knew so little
about leucism that I wasn't sure whether a leucistic bird would have such
clearly delineated markings on both its wings, so I got out the Peterson
guide to see if there were any songbirds that could be white like that.
Snow Bunting seemed the only possibility, which I suppose isn't impossible
after a windstorm, but would seem unlikely. It never got close enough for
me to get a decent picture (once I got out the camera) and it seems to have
moved on, so I can't go back to check more closely for field markings, bill
shape, etc.



There is definitely a leucistic (pied) red-shafted flicker who visits my
feeder regularly, but this is the whitest bird I have ever seen in my yard.
I'd love to know what it is. If anyone with better identification skills or
a quicker, more powerful camera, sees this bird (seen in the Crossroads area
of Bellevue, Washington around 11 a.m.), maybe you can tell what it is.



Thanks

Barbara Miller

Bellevue, Washington

Bmill07ATcomcastDOTnet