The story of the albino hummingbird…
Naturalist says albino, not to be confused with white hummingbird, is very rare
By Susan Broili : The Herald-Sun
sbroili@heraldsun.com
Aug 24, 2003 : 5:45 pm ET
CARRBORO -- Naturalist Bill Hilton Jr. had to come all the way to Carrboro to see his first albino hummingbird.
Hilton heads the York, S.C.-based Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, and is one of only 75 people allowed to band hummingbirds, he said.
So when Becky Laskody of Carrboro e-mailed him about the white hummer she was seeing at her feeder, he made a point to stop here on his way to give a banding demonstration in Virginia.
She sent her message earlier this month because she had been seeing the white hummingbird since July 30 at her feeder on Circadian Way and wondered if it were albino and if these birds were unusual.
White hummingbirds in general are rare, but the albino hummingbird is even more so, Hilton said.
(The other type of white hummingbirds have normal black beaks, eyes and feet).
Only about 100 white hummingbirds have been documented, Hilton said.
"When Becky Laskody e-mailed us a still photo of her white hummingbird with pale bill, we got understandably excited ...," Hilton recalled.
The Laskody family named the bird Angel. Hilton came to the family's home on Aug. 8, set up a trap and waited.
Several normal-colored ruby-throated hummingbirds appeared first. Then, after 20 minutes, Hilton saw a flash of white. Angel had arrived.
After a few misses, he captured Angel in the trap.
"This true albino was a very striking bird," Hilton said. "As interesting as this bird was on the wing, it was even more incredible up close where we could see white plumage that almost glowed -- plus a bright red eye and a bill that was an indescribable, sensuous blend of orange and pink."
By examining the bird, Hilton also found that it was a female; male ruby-throated birds are 25 percent smaller. The bird had hatched this year and Laskody had probably seen it shortly after it flew from the nest.
The bird weighed 4.1 grams, a healthy weight.
"It broadened my understanding of hummingbirds," Hilton said.
The naturalist noticed, for the first time, that the spot on the bird's back was actually bare of feathers, which might have some aerodynamic function. This area, seen on normal hummers had been thought to be a smudge of dirt or spider web.
Hilton also could see the blood vessels in the bird's transparent feet and that the blood source was at the base of the claws, a good reason to be careful if trimming a bird's claws.
Angel, like other banded hummingbirds, did not seem at all traumatized by the experience. As Hilton held her, she drank sugar water from the feeder and then sat quietly for several minutes in Laskody's palm before zipping off.
Laskody said she could feel the bird's heartbeat and breathing and that it felt warm. (Its temperature is about 105 degrees Fahrenheit).
Hilton put a band with the number Y14536 on one of Angel's legs and also painted a spot of blue dye on her breast for later identification.
The Hilton Pond Center is the most active bird-banding site in the country with 47,000 birds banded, including 3,000 ruby throated hummingbirds, since 1982, Hilton said.
Banding provides information about birds' migration, age and population.
"I'm hoping that bird's going to show up somewhere," Hilton said of Angel.
But so far, none of the white hummingbirds he's banded have ever been found away from their original banding site nor has one been known to return a year later.
This could be because the white feathers aren't strong enough for the bird to migrate or perhaps the white color makes it an easier target for predators, Hilton said.
He has documented that the same hummers return year after year from winter migration, but has never had any of the banded ruby-throated hummers found or recaptured in Mexico or Central America, where these birds migrate.
To document these birds in their winter home and study other behavior of the birds, Hilton started Operation Ruby Throat in 1999 to encourage schoolchildren and adults to look for the ruby-throated hummers in Mexico and Central America. For more information, see www.rubythroat.org.
Since Hilton told the story of Angel on his Web site, www.hiltonpond.org, he has received two more reports and photos of albino hummingbirds -- one in Cary and the other in western Mississippi. He won't be banding either because they have already left those areas.
Hilton is interested in hearing about sightings of any hummingbirds here after Oct. 15. Some could be hummingbirds from the western U.S., including the Rufus hummingbird, that are increasingly wintering on the East Coast. Rufus males are orange, while females look similar to female ruby-throat, with a white throat and iridescent green back.
And, of course he'd like to know where Angel went. Laskody last saw the bird on Aug. 11.
Hilton can be reached at (803) 684-5852 or by e-mail at research@hiltonpond.org
5:15:33 PM 
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