Amazing pure white robin with super-rare albinism spotted in Yorkshire

A striking all-white robin with a super-rare albinism that affects just one in 30,000 of the species - was spotted happily gathering twigs and leaves to make a nest in North Yorkshire.
The robin has an incredibly rare form of albinism.The robin has an incredibly rare form of albinism.
The robin has an incredibly rare form of albinism.

The unique bird - which is almost entirely snow-white, save for its beady black eyes - was spotted flitting between two trees, seemingly gathering materials to make a nest.

The part-albino robin, which is even sporting an almost-white beak, "stuck out like a sore thumb" as it perched on a branch above a cycle path in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire said wildlife photographer Brian Matthews.

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But the bird seemed unfazed by passers-by - and was even flanked by another robin, with its token red chest.

The unique bird was spotted in North Yorkshire.The unique bird was spotted in North Yorkshire.
The unique bird was spotted in North Yorkshire.

Brian said: "The white robin was a bit skittish, because it was very easy to see. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

"They're really rare - you usually only see one every couple of years around the UK.

"And even then, they're not usually as white as this one - usually they have a little bit of grey or brown in them.

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"This one is almost entirely white, apart from its eyes - even its beak is almost white."

Brian added that the two robins were seen hopping around gathering food first thing in the morning last Thursday.

And he said: "Albino robins, or part-albino robins like this one, tend to struggle to find a mate, and they often don't last as long because they get picked on by the other birds.

"But people who live on a housing estate near the cycle path say that this one has been around since at least October - so it's doing alright for itself.

"And it seemed to be making a nest - so hopefully it has found itself a mate, maybe the other robin that it was with."