Leucistic White Peacock

by Deena Stoddard

Title

Leucistic White Peacock

Artist

Deena Stoddard

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

This is by far the most popular, and perhaps the most beautiful, of all the colored mutations. This peacock has the same enormous tail feathers as its colored brothers, but without an ounce of color: the whole bird is pure white.

I admit that before doing research I'd thought these were albinos, like most people do. In fact, they have something called leucism. Leucism is when the cells lack the ability to make any pigment whatsoever. In contrast, albinism is when an animal can't produce melanin.

These birds, and in fact many of the 55+ peacock mutations, are maintained through selective breeding. Much like wolves were bred over time to resemble everything from a dachshund to a saint bernard, peacocks have been bred over time to display many different colors and patterns.

This beautiful specimen was captured at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri.



All images © 2011-2020 Deena Stoddard ~ All Rights Reserved

Uploaded

March 19th, 2013

Statistics

Viewed 6,344 Times  -  Last Visitor from Romeo, MI on 04/23/2024 at 12:44 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags