THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The sighting of a rare white crow/albino crow is keeping the villagers of Pathinalam Mile - a small village located six km away from Adoor in Pathanamthitta district- amused. Though everybody saw the rare albino crow, it was Ratheesh R, a local resident, who realised that it was a rare sighting.
“I noticed it among a group of black crows in my neighbourhood while going to drop my kid at school. I was amused as it was an unbelievable sight. All the features and the sound were just like that of a normal crow. It was seen isolated and attacked by other crows because it looks different,” said Ratheesh.
The villagers rescued the white crow and one of the residents, Jayashree C, started feeding it.
“The white crow felt safer in the area near my home. It was a baby crow and I have been noticing it for the past two weeks. It was being pecked and attacked by other crows and hence I started feeding it every morning and afternoon and now I see it every morning in my backyard,” says Jayashree. “It has grown big and is stronger now. It has started fighting back other crows,” she added.
Prasad A, a photographer hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, travelled to Pathanamthitta to click the photograph of the rare albino crow.
“Ratheesh is my friend and relative and he informed me about this sighting. I am passionate about bird photography and so I didn’t hesitate to travel and click a photo,” said Prasad A.
According to experts, albinos occur once in every 30,000 birds and this happens due to a deficiency of melanin pigmentation due to which the crow turns white. White crow sightings were reported in many parts of the state in the past.