Pictured: The rare partial albino blackbird with a white head



An amazed couple took this picture after they spotted a rare bird with a white head and a black body in their garden.

The unusual blackbird is a daily visitor at the home of Terry Fairchild, 58, and his wife Lorraine, 55, in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.

Experts say it is a partial albino, which lucky to have survived into adulthood because its bright white head makes it highly visible to predators.

Rare: A partially-albino blackbird, nicknamed Whitey by Terry Fairchild and wife Lorraine, perches on a shed roof

Mrs Fairchild, a mother-of-two, who has nicknamed the bird Whitey, said: 'We first noticed Whitey about six months ago and couldn't tell what type of bird he was.

'All I can remember was thinking how beautiful he was and how unusual he looked. He certainly stood out.

'We tried numerous times to take a picture of him, but he is quite shy and flew off. We did get lucky and got a photo of him sitting on the shed roof.

'We just wanted to know what type of bird he was because although he looked like a blackbird, he wasn't completely black.'

Mr Fairchild, a welder, sent the pictures to the RSPB so they could identify the bird.

Spokesman Kiaran Nelson confirmed that Whitey was a partially-albino blackbird.

He said: 'These blackbirds are quite unusual and nature doesn't always favour these birds.

'Partially-albino blackbirds can find it hard to survive over their all-black relatives because they stand out too much and can be rejected by their parents and siblings.