Pictures: Teus Luijendijk

7 November 2004, Lentevreugd, Wassenaar ZH

7 November 2004, Lentevreugd, Wassenaar ZH

Occasionally, a pale-coloured Starling turns up among the large flocks passing here on migration. A colour phase has been described as 'the biscuit-coloured Starling', but the bird shown below resembled more a leucistic individual. These aren't particularly rare, although mostly the birds show just a few white feathers. This one was a sort of overall pale, especially on the wings. This made it resemble very much a Rose-coloured Starling S. roseus, but as it lacked a thicker, yellowish bill and the distinctive pale flight feather edgings, it must have been a Common Starling.