Leucistic House Wren Fledgling
House wrens are small, compact brown birds with a fairly long, curved beak, short wings, and a long tail that they often have cocked above the line of their body. They have a very faint pale eyebrow and dark barring on their wings and tail. This fledgling had white wings, which is a sign of leucism.
This fledgling was able to fly, but didn't seem ready to leave home. The mother bird would fly up to the gourd, throw some food in at her screaming baby, and then leave. She seemed ready for it to move out! Several days after this spotting, I observed this bird in the woods along with its mother, who was still feeding it. They had moved out of their gourd nest and into the woods, which were about 20 feet from where the gourd hung. The fledgling stayed in the same location, just hopping around, while the mother would bring it food. It was the last fledgling to stay with the mother bird.
The reduction of pigment in leucistic birds causes feathers to weaken and be more prone to wear. In some situations, leucism can hinder flight, increase the risk of predation, and may cause the affected bird to be shunned by a potential mate.
The house wren is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren.
