PENNSYLVANIA - Seeing the red flash of a Northern Cardinal may be common, but spotting a pure white cardinal is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
A wildlife center in Pennsylvania beat those odds not once, but twice, when they took in two extremely rare albino cardinals.
What we know:
The Raven Ridge Wildlife Center's journey began in July when a local resident rescued an injured white bird from under a car, which staff soon identified as a rare, true albino Northern Cardinal.
Given the name "Frosty," the bird will remain a permanent resident at the sanctuary, as his lack of natural camouflage and poor eyesight severely limit his chances of surviving in the wild.
The center says Frosty is thriving in his new home. He has developed a spunky personality and is currently molting, even beginning to show faint traces of color.
Not long after, the center admitted a second albino cardinal. Sadly, this second bird arrived severely compromised with an ear infection and did not survive.
Dig deeper:
True albino cardinals possess a rare genetic mutation causing a complete lack of melanin, resulting in snow-white plumage and reddish-pink eyes.
The center says that the odds of encountering a cardinal with any white feathers (a condition often known as leucism) is roughly 1 in 30,000. True albino cardinals, however, are said to be "one of the rarest bird sightings."
While striking to look at, experts say this condition presents severe survival challenges in the wild, leaving the birds with poor vision, brittle feathers, and zero camouflage against predators like hawks and outdoor cats.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from a Facebook post by the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center.