Rare white puffin spotted on Scottish island of Handa

A rare white puffin has been spotted on a remote island in the north of Scotland.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article

The puffin was seen on Handa Island Wildlife Reserve off the coast of Sutherland by rangers from the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

It has only a few black feathers and its bill is largely orange.

The white puffin spotted on Handa Island Wildlife Reserve

The rare bird’s unique look is due to a lack of pigmentation caused by the genetic condition leucism.

It was first spotted on the island in mid-June and rangers said its late arrival and behaviour suggests it is a young bird which is not ready to breed.

Covid symptoms: What are the symptoms of the Delta variant? What are most common signs of coronavirus?

Erika Faggiani, Handa ranger at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “This is a very rare sighting. There are only a small number of reports of leucism at seabird colonies around the UK, including one puffin which bred on Handa in 2018 and 2019 which had light brown feathers instead of black.

The leucistic puffin's unique look of only a few black feathers and a largely orange bill is due to a lack of pigmentation caused by the genetic condition leucism.

“The puffin has only been seen occasionally and it seems to be spending most time in areas where members of the public could not easily spot it, so anyone coming to Handa to see this puffin is likely to be disappointed.

“But visitors can still look forward to seeing and hearing crowds of seabirds, including puffins, guillemots and razorbills, on the reserve’s tall cliffs.”

Puffins are vulnerable to extinction due to decline in sand eels, one of their most important sources of food, from climate change and overfishing.

Handa Island is owned by the Scourie Estate and is managed as a wildlife reserve in partnership with the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Handa Island is owned by the Scourie Estate and is managed as a wildlife reserve in partnership with the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Thank you for reading this article.

We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.