Our next image (above), taken by Judy Rice of Lawrenceville GA in late August, nicely shows individual wing feathers in a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Because Judy was able to freeze the action in this fast-flapping bird we know her photo depicts a female. We determined this by the shape of the #6 primary feather, which is untapered with a more or less rounded tip. (The #10 primary is the feather on the wing's leading edge, so #6 is the fifth one back.) By contrast, in male ruby-throats the #6 primary tapers strongly to a dagger-like point--a useful character that just happens to allow a bird bander 100% accuracy in sexing Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in-the-hand.

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All white hummingbird photos © their respective photographers

This ability to sex ruby-throats by the shape of their wing feathers brings up something of interest to hummer-watchers: In all the albinistic and leucistic Ruby-throated Hummingbirds we have personally handled--and in all those for which we have seen photos that clearly reveal individual wing feathers--the birds have been females. We take this to mean abnormal plumage in hummingbirds may be a sex-linked trait that shows up in females but not males. It's also possible we don't see free-flying males with the trait for albinism or leucism simply because they die as embryos or nestlings and do not fledge. The leucistic ruby-throat above--photographed by Amy Bourgeois on 13 October in Arcadia LA--looks rather plump and may have been preparing to migrate to the tropics. Odds are it's a female. (CAVEAT: Our good friend Ellie Womack of Grove OK, whom we refer to as the "Queen of the White Hummingbirds," tells us six of 38 banded leucistos she knows of were actually determined to be males; all were juveniles.)

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All white hummingbird photos © their respective photographers

In early July, Robert Pfeiffer hosted what looks at first glance like it could be a leucistic Ruby-throated Hummingbird (above)--until you scroll down and notice a rusty-colored hummer speeding below the feeder. The lower bird is a probably a juvenile male Rufous Hummingbird--an early southbound migrant not likely to be found in mid-summer anywhere there are ruby-throats. We should mention the Robert's white bird was seen at Durango CO (altitude 7,800'); we suspect it is a Black-chinned Hummingbird but welcome other opinions at INFO.

Perhaps the most interesting images we got this year came from Susan Parker of Pima AZ (above) and Jay Zarnoth of Dale IN (below right). Although we've banded several hummingbirds that were true albinos and leucistos, these two photos were the first we've seen of what are called "pied" hummers--"partial" albinos bearing normal plumage dotted with numerous white feathers. Jay's is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird while Susan's is a Black-chinned, but that's not what we think is REALLY unusual about her hummer. According to Susan, this is the second year in a row this pied Black-chinned Hummingbird has visited her feeders--something that, to our knowledge, has never been said about an albinistic or leucistic Ruby-throated Hummingbird. In fact, we know of only one report of an albino or leucisto of any hummer species that returned in a later year, and that was apparently a nonmigratory Anna's Hummingbird in California. (By the way, Susan had TWO pied Black-chinned Hummingbirds at her Arizona feeder in 2008, leading her to speculate they were mother and daughter from successive years.)

You may have noted in our narrative above that NONE of the white hummers--except the Arizona pied--were spring birds; all were sighted in late summer or fall. This suggests the white birds were juveniles hatched in 2008. Our conjecture on survival in white hummingbirds is they simply don't last very long, especially in species that must migrate long distances. First of all, leucistos and albinos are genetic aberrations, and other genetic deficiencies that might go along with whiteness may be detrimental to survival. On top of that, being bright white in a mostly green world may make these rare hummers more easily taken by predators. And, since melanin is a structural pigment that adds strength to feathers, birds that lack it may have plumage that wears out quickly. It's always possible, of course, there have just been too few white hummingbirds banded to make any conclusions about their survivability, but we're guessing as eye-catching and awe-inspiring as they may be, albinos and leucistos are destined to live short lives. (Why else wouldn't folks see white hummers--adults--in spring?) We doubt this short-life phenomenon diminished Patti Livingston's astonishment in late August when a tan-and-white leucistic Ruby-throated Hummingbird (above left) came to visit her Ruleville MS home. Her leucisto's "red eye" is merely an artifact of the camnera flash.

Thanks to all who submitted photos of white hummingbirds in 2008; we regret we couldn't mention them all or include every image. If you're fortunate enough to host an albino, leucisto, or pied in future years, please consider submitting a report and your best photo to us via RESEARCH at Hilton Pond Center. Be sure to include your name, city/state, observation date, and any interesting anecdotal information about your rare white hummingbird.