Rare Magpie

We did a day trip to Perth yesterday with my lovely Mum.   On the way home we stopped for lunch in Pinjarra.  R found a nice picnic table under some trees near the river.  As often happens when one stops at a popular picnic spot, the local wildlife descends in the hope of getting some crumbs from your lunch.  Yesterday it was magpies, including this unusual looking one:

Turns out this beautiful magpie is very rare.  Sometimes called a piebald magpie, the colouration is caused by a rare condition called Leucism.  Basically, it's a genetic variation in the cells responsible for producing the black pigmentation commonly seen in magpies.

I love magpies. They're definitely one of my favourite Australian birds. Especially when they're singing.  This magpie is just a little more special for being so rare.  I think we have been very lucky to have seen it.  A good omen I hope.