Unusual White Toucan Is Photographed in Guápiles

Carlos Bolaños, a Costa Rican photographer, managed to find an unusual, yet beautiful, white toucan after a long time of watching. Carlos found the animal in Guápiles and managed to take great photos of such a special bird. In addition, he managed to record on a video which he shared on his social media.

Why does it show that white color?

Apparently, this bird could have an anomaly called “leucism”. It is a genetic peculiarity due to a recessive gene, which gives white color to the coat or plumage (the eyes maintain their normal color, unlike albinos).

Leucism is different from albinism: leucistic animals are no more sensitive to the sun than the rest. On the contrary, they can be even slightly more resistant because having the white color an elevated albedo protects more from heat.

The degree of leucism varies greatly. It ranges from birds that have only a white feather to birds with all–white plumage (as in albinos, feathers with red and yellow colors, produced by carotenoids, may be intact). But their eyes always have a normal color.

Their beak and legs, on the other hand, may be normally colored or completely lacking in color.