Plinian Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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These are terrific, Socrate; the natural beauty of a diverse set, some unusual findings, (the white-colored mockingbird), and, of course, that incredibly cute baby bluebird (captured, no doubt, with the benefit of the new firmware)!
My favorites among these are the starlings (the combination of light and iridescence is wonderful), and the bluebirds (for the interaction), but the technical quality and impact of all of them are superb.
I know a little bit about color variation in animals, and I do not believe the mockingbird variant has been described or characterized nearly as well as color variants in some other birds, e.g. snow geese, pigeons, quail, chickens. As big country and Merlinator have suggested, the presence of red eyes and snow-white plumage is almost always caused by mutations that inactivate one of the enzymes that makes melanin, and is often referred to as albinism (although there are many different types of albinism). The converse is not true, however; just because a white animal doesn't have red eyes doesn't mean that there isn't a defect in melanin formation. It would be interesting to know whether either of the mockingbird parents also had the pale coloration. (Your next post, perhaps!)
Greg
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