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Abnormal feather colouring
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Abnormal feather colouring

Albinistic male blackbird
An albinistic male blackbird

Feather colouration in birds is produced by a number of means. From time to time, the mechanism that produces normal colouration breaks down, resulting either in lack of colour or too much of it. These pages describe these abnormal colourations.

The main colouring agent in feathers is melanin, which is manufactured in the pigment cells in the bird's body. Melanin can be black, brown or chestnut-red in colour. 

The amount of melanin determines the intensity of the final colour. Yellows, oranges and reds are produced by pigments called carotenoids. Blues and greens are not pigments, but come about as light reflects from the complex structure of the feather. 

The true colour of many iridescent feathers is black or brown, and so if a bird like a kingfisher is seen in very low light, it appears dark in colour.