Whether a bird with abnormal plumage will be accepted by members of its species depends on the species and the circumstances. The beige swallow managed to fly out of the water, but Oberman thought the bird was probably doomed, because it would be the subject of similar attacks. She said numerous "normal" Tree Swallows attacked the beige one and forced it into the water.
She related a story about a pale beige Tree Swallow flying among a large group of Tree swallows with typical coloration. Lola Oberman wrote an article for the Audubon Naturalist Society News about birds with color abnormalities. The head of the grackle pictured below is mostly bald. The head of Ashley's Chipping Sparrow would fit this definition. The word bald in Bald Eagle means white rather than featherless. The next time the bird molts, the new feathers will contain pigment. Temporary feathers might grow back without pigment and be white. An example would be if a bird loses some feathers to a predator. To add to the confusion, a condition called fright molt can result in a bird having some feathers that are temporarily white. When leucistic birds molt, their new plumage can look different than it did before the molt, showing either a greater or lesser number of white or washed-out feathers. Their affected feathers can be either all white or appear washed out, but their eyes and soft parts are the normal color.
Leucistic birds can produce melanin, but it does not get into some or all of their feathers. Their eyes and soft parts (bill, skin, legs, etc.) appear reddish-pink, because blood vessels show through their colorless skin. They have a genetic condition that causes a lack of the enzyme tyrosinase, and they are unable to produce melanin. Pure albino birds are always totally white. Leucistic birds and pure albino birds differ in a few ways.
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