White Red-tailed Hawk, Bedford, MA, June 16, 2007
In June 1999 an emaciated white Red-tailed Hawk was discovered in a
Bedford parking lot and brought to a wildlife rehabilitator. The bird was
discovered to be a female, and was successfully brought back to health
and released back in Bedford. Linda Cocca of Mass Audubon tells me she
had received calls about a white Red-tail in this area as far back as 1992.
Since that time there have been many reports of this extraordinarily
striking bird in the area of Route 3 from Burlington to Billerica. This
abnormal plumage is called "leucism", a term many consider more accurate
than "partial albino." A true albino would have pink eyes and pale bill
and feet. The feathers on this bird appear to be entirely white except
for some very pale buff feathers on the rump. The eyes are normally pigmented,
but the legs appear much paler than the yellow legs of a normally-pigmented
Red-tail.