"White," Albino-like Penguin Found in Antarctica

Antarctica seems to always be giving us newly discovered species and varieties of the ones we already know about. This is a wonder picture and video of a "blonde" penguin that appears to have isabellinism. It is a beautiful bird.

news.nationalgeographic.com...

Birds of a feather usually flock together—but not in the case of a rare "white" mutant penguin, spotted Monday in a chinstrap penguin colony in Antarctica.
The "blonde" penguin, seen at the edge of one of the South Shetland Islands (map), "astonished" tourists on a National Geographic Journey to Antarctica cruise, naturalist David Stephens, of the Lindblad Expeditions cruise company, wrote on his blog.

Though the penguin looks like an albino, the bird actually appears to have isabellinism, said penguin expert P. Dee Boersma of the University of Washington in Seattle.

The condition is a genetic mutation that dilutes pigment in penguins' feathers, according to a 2009 study on isabellinism published in the journal Marine Ornithology.

This results in a "uniform lightening" of a bird's dark colors, turning the animal a grayish yellow or pale brown, the study said.

cool


2nd line

They should capture and study it in a lab. Maybe they would be able to isolate what gene activation caused it to be that way. Too cool! I bet after a simple disection they could make some amazing discoverys. Star And Flag!!