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An amateur photographer with vitiligo captured a ‘one in a million’ white magpie and revealed the ‘connection’ he felt with the rare bird.
Terry Wright, 52, snapped photos of the bird in the coastal town of Fishguard in Wales earlier this month.
The magpie was almost completely white, sporting just a few black feathers, and has a condition called leucism.
This is caused by a genetic mutation that results in a total or partial reduction of colour in a bird’s feathers.
Have YOU spotted a rare animal? Email alesia.fiddler@mailonline.co.uk
An amateur photographer with vitiligo captured a ‘one in a million’ white magpie and revealed the ‘connection’ he felt with the rare bird
Terry Wright (pictured), 52, snapped photos of the bird in the coastal town of Fishguard in Wales earlier this month
The magpie was almost completely white, sporting just a few black feathers, and has a condition called leucism
Seeing a magpie with this type of colouration is very rare and Terry said he felt a special ‘connection’ with the bird as he has a condition called vitiligo – which causes a loss of pigmentation in the skin, told The Times.
He said: ‘After seeing it, I kind of felt maybe I should go and buy a lottery ticket this evening.’
Terry said the chances of seeing such a rare bird were ‘one in a million’.
After a few failed attempts to take photos of the bird, Terry managed to capture some images which he said was ‘beyond anything he could never imagine.’
Terry, from Abercych, Pembrokeshire, said: ‘I’ve never, ever seen one before.
‘The odds of seeing a white bird are one in 30,000 but it’s one in a million to see a white magpie.’
According to The British Trust for Ornithology’s website, leucism can be inherited.
It can also mean that the impacted feathers are weakened.
‘It’s beyond anything that I could ever imagine seeing – I’ve never took any photographs like this before.
‘I have a smile on my face when I’m even talking about it, because I’m thinking wow what a thing that was.’
This is caused by a genetic mutation that results in a total or partial reduction of colour in a bird’s feathers
Terry runs a Facebook page called Meander, where he posts daily nature photos to his almost 6,000 followers.
He says he feels ‘blessed’ to have been able to take the photos of the extremely rare animal.
Terry said: ‘For someone that’s into nature, it’s just the best thing ever.
‘I feel blessed to have been able to see it and to photograph it.’
Have YOU spotted a rare animal? Email alesia.fiddler@mailonline.co.uk