Well, the roseate spoonbill I got pics of a couple of weeks ago was back at my pond this weekend. I was able to get some better in flight pics this time as well. Someone on another forum commented about how this bird looked to be luecistic. When I first got pics of this bird I did notice that it was a lot more white than other spoonbills I had seen. I thought this was just due to its diet. But then I noticed something else that was just a little different. This bird has black eyes opposed to the typical red eyes that you see which is a characteristic in luecisitic animals. Maybe someone with more knowledge can ad some insight. As always CC welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!! Here is the link to the first thread with more pictures of the same bird. https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1211187/0#11543547
Eric, I've shot thousands of spoonbills and yes this one is different. At first I thought it might be his diet, the fact that his color was very pale, but his eyes are definitely black instead of red. Nice shots, there were some really colorful ones at ding darling a while back with one real pale one in the group, maybe his cousin, but ding is now closed till sometime in october
These are very nice captures, Eric. I like the light and detail, and you did a good job on the exposure. The take off sequence is also very well captured
I'm not an expert, but from what I can see from the feathers colors this one looks like a juvenile, one year(?). I've seen this coloring before. About the eye, juveniles have yellowish colored eye and according to how the light its it may appear dark sometimes. In any case leucistic animals have normally colored eyes, so the color of the eye should not be an indication of leucism. If anything the eye should be red.
I'm sure somebody more expert than me can give you a more correct answer. Mine is based only on my experience.
Again, nice job
Socrate
Very nice Eric and a nice observation. Unfortunately I can't shed any light on the color of the feathers other than to second what Socrate has offered.
Eric
I'd say this bird was fully aware of you & showing off. I like birds like that.
I don't know about the coloring other than what my gut instinct tells me. I think it's a juvenile. The whole bird just seems "juvenile" for some reason to me.
I'll go with the last shot as well. It's simply lovely
Thanks for the comments guys! It seems to be the consensus that it is a juvenile. I was really hoping that there was something different about this bird. Oh well. I am still happy I was able to get some good pics of it.
