Could you identify this white bird? Perhaps if it was singing you would recognize this leucistic Northern Mockingbird that was photographed by Derek Lecy and is now part of the new Macaulay Library “Aberrant Individual” photo file. A partial-albino (leucistic) Acorn Woodpecker was photographed with a normally plumaged bird as a comparison by Mark Rauzon. An albino Ruby-throated Hummingbird was photographed near a feeder in Indiana by Ryan Yahn.

Some of the most interesting bird sightings include albino, partial-albino, and melanistic birds we encounter. To help study such unique characteristics, the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library now features an “Aberrant Individual” label for eBird users to add to photos and videos of birds that have unusual physical traits including leucism, melanism, bill deformities, and other physical properties that aren't injury related. This anticipated feature makes it easier for anyone to study these traits and how they influence bird biology and behavior, including researchers who are investigating these features in birds.

For example, when birders document abnormal traits in birds with photographs or videos, and tag the photos on eBird, we will be assisting researchers like Ecuadorian ornithologist Hector Cadena, who has spent years investigating the causes and impacts of physical anomalies. Other biologists will also be inclined to study this group of birds, and it’s an interesting aspect of bird study for birders to keep in touch with too.

As indicated by the photographs illustrating this article, anyone will be surprised to see the collection of bird photos already filed in this interesting new category of birds found within the expansive Macaulay Library at Media Search - Macaulay Library and eBird