Date: 8/22/26 7:46 am From: mtove (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: RE: Albino or Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk Boone NC
Of all the raptors, in my experience, Red-tailed Hawk takes the prize for most frequent albinism. I see albino (or more commonly, partial – piebald – albino) Red-tails almost every year, including up to 3 in one day. The most “pure” albino Red-tail I’ve ever seen was a magnificent pure white bird with only a faint hint of “pink” in the tail (breathtaking). Leucistic (pale, “washed out”) birds also exist – I’ve seen at least 2 of those in NC alone. By contrast, I don’t recall having seen any other raptor species that was albinistic (including piebald or leucistic individuals). I have seen nearly pure-white Rough-legged Hawks (adult males) – but they were “natural” plumage; not albinos and of course, nearly pure-white “Krider’s” Red-tails but they too were “natural”; not albinistic. And let’s not even start talking about white Gyrfalcons.
Mike Tove
Cary, NC
From: <carolinabirds-request...> <carolinabirds-request...> On Behalf Of Lynn Erla Beegle (via carolinabirds Mailing List)
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2026 9:58 AM
To: Noah Rokoske <noahrockasocki...>
Cc: carolinabirds <carolinabirds...>
Subject: Re: Albino or Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk Boone NC
Hi Noah and cc to to listserv
Congratulations on getting the leucistic hawk photos.
Please; when you post the photos on ebird, scroll down along the details on the margin and
Check the "aberrant individual " box. This fairly recent choice helps researchers find the unusual birds quickly.
"Aberrant" can also be used for other interesting color variations, misshapen bills, disease deformations, eye color, etc.
I recall seeing a white-splotched American Robin this past spring and getting photos of both sides. I hope it visits my yard this fall, although I fear a predator saw it and said "Dibs"!
Hi Carolinabirders,
I guess fall migration is in the air for real! Had my first broad-wing the other day, and now! something even more special! As I was loading my car for a weekend away, I noticed a murder of crows carrying on about something near my apartment in downtown Boone, NC. I looked up, and in a tree above the county courthouse, a splotch of white! What kind of egret would decide to perch atop a tree in the middle of a small city hundreds of miles from any appreciable lowland area? Glad I had decided to bring the bag with my camera and binoculars in this go-round, I peered at the white body through my bins and noted that it was not an egret, but indeed a raptor, presumably albino or leucistic. I took out my camera and managed to snap a photo right as the hawk launched from the tree, and then took several more photos as it circled up and up and eventually disappeared over Howard’s Knob. If anyone wants to see photos, I’m happy to send them along. I will also post this sighting to eBird, along with media, so that it is counted in citizen science, but I thought it was noteworthy enough to warrant a post to the good ol’ listserv!
And now, excited to go out tomorrow and see what shore- and waterbirds this evening’s thunderstorm may have blown in/ kept down… and remember, the crows *are* trying to tell you something!
Good birding,
~ Noah Rokoske
Boone and Durham
