Light fantastic: The incredibly rare albino blackbird pictured by Fiona Crofts in her back gardenA householder snapped a very unusual visitor to her garden - a white blackbird.
Fiona Crofts spotted the rare albino bird sitting on the fence in her garden in Deeping, near Peterborough.
Avid bird watcher Fiona said in six years of 'twitching' it was the first time she had ever seen anything like it.
Fiona, 26, said: 'At first I thought it was a dove, so I ran to put my glasses on, but it wasn't until I got a closer look I realised it was actually a blackbird
'I couldn't believe it, I was quite shocked I've never seen a completely white blackbird before, that's for sure.'
Fiona watched and took photos of the bird for around five minutes before it flew away.
She said it must have been a fleeting visit, as she has not seen her feathered friend since.
Erica Howe, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said she was certain the bird was an albino blackbird, which are very rare in the wild.
But she said, being pale an interesting meant the bird did not have an easy time surviving in the wild.
She said: 'The problem albino blackbirds have is that they stand out quite a lot.
All white: Albinism occurs in more than 160 species of birds in Britain and tends to be genetic passed on from parents'This means they are vulnerable to predators such as cats, foxes and larger birds of prey and are easily targeted.
'Albinism occurs in more than 160 species of birds in Britain and tends to be genetic passed on from parents.
'Nearly a third of albino birds in Britain are thrushes and blackbirds, but they are very rare.
'There are different levels of albinism in blackbirds. Some are completely white, while others have only a few white patches or feathers.'
source: dailymail
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