Birds

White Penguin… Wow!

January 10, 2012 by Mike No Comments

While people tend to consider penguins in terms of black and white, every once in a while one of these dapper divers drops the tuxedo for something along the lines of a summer seersucker…

White Chinstrap Penguin © David Stephens, Lindblad Expeditions
Used with permission

Guests and expedition staff aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Explorer were treated to a rare sighting of this rare nearly all-white leucistic Chinstrap Penguin waddling its way through the Aitcho Islands in Antarctica on January 9. 2012.

Worried that wearing white after Labor Day might be lethal for penguins? Don’t be. Lindblad’s Naturalist David Stephens, who snapped this remarkable photo, sees this fashion trend on the rise: “While odd coloration may make fishing a bit more difficult, leucistic birds are regularly found breeding normally.”

Written by Mike

Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.