Once-In-A-Lifetime Rare White Cardinal Spotted In Backyard

Scott Davis, of Gallatin, Tenessee has just had a once in a lifetime encounter with a rare white cardinal, right in his backyard. The lifelong birdwatcher was surprised to see a nearly all-white cardinal, with only very light red feathers on its body, eating food in the 67-year-old retiree’s backyard.

A leucistic cardinal, such as the female shown here, can produce melanins, but something stops these pigments from being deposited in the feathers. The appearance between an albino and a leucistic bird could be very similar, except the leucistic individual will have a normal dark pigmented eye.