Adorable Rare White Tauhou Caught On Camera By Eagle-Eyed Photographer

Leucism, or leukism, is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation. It prevents pigment on a bird's feathers. In 2017, a photographer in Whangarei spotted a rare white piwakawaka(fantail) with leucism. A usual waxeye, or silvereye, is dark grey and green with a distinct white ring around its eye. The small and friendly, not threatened bird species self-introduced itself to New Zealand forests in the 1800s, and now has a wide distribution throughout the country.