Kim Kaufman, Sandy Burris, and I birded the Magee boardwalk this morning. Very few birds were seen but we did see, and hear, a number of Fox Sparrows. Kim spotted one unusual Fox Sparrow with large white splotches on its body. It stayed deep in the brush and only allowed us a few brief looks. This condition is know as leucism. Leucistic animals lack normal pigment in all or part of their body. Albinos lack all pigment, including the pigment in their eyes which appear pink or red due to the presence of blood. Google "leucistic and bird" or "leucism and bird" and you can find some interesting photos. Perhaps someone could get a shot of our bird. FYI, the opposite of leucistic is melanistic. Melanistic animals are darker than normal, having excess pigment in their bodies. On our way home, Sandy and I saw at least 70 Great Egrets in a small marshy pond west of Medusa Marsh in the tiny community of Bay Bridge which lies on the eastern outskirts of the larger town of Bayview. There were many other Great Egrets in the surrounding marshes, but nothing to rival this concentration. Sheryl Young Sandusky ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]