Crows

Everyone who knows me knows that I am almost obsessed with corvids. Crows, ravens, jackdaws, magpies and rooks. Love them and they appear in my work regularly.

I see them all over the place, greet them and have a good day when I see lots of them, but today is the best day ever for crows because on my way to the studio I saw one of the rarest sights corvid spotters ever see. A leucistic crow.

The image attached to here is a photo taken in July of the crow I saw today, by Pete Mella.

Leucism is caused by a reduction of the pigment in the skin, feathers and fur of the animals and differs from Albinism because pigment id present whereas in albinism the melanin pigments are not there at all.

To say I was amazed to see this bird is an understatement. I love to find wildlife in city settings, I love catching sight of urban foxes and hedgehogs and have always looked carefully for badgers and rabbits whenever I am driving on country roads at dusk, but to see such an unusual bird in a city setting has made me feel so blessed.

He looked fit and well fed, strong and so so alive in his surroundings.

To see such a rare creature this early in the year makes me feel positive for the year ahead and I hope his blessing stays with me and keeps him safe throughout the year.