Rare bird spotted by couple
It's the stuff of legend - there is a Wigan pub named after one while Romanies believe crossing its path can bring you bad luck.
And now a white crow has been spotted in Wigan.
They are thought to be the result of a rare genetic disorder.
Now one has been seen almost a dozen times in recent weeks on the rural edge of Standish.
Wigan bird expert Graham Workman reckons it is almost certainly one of a kind in the borough.
Nature lover Lorna Bean, 17, and her boyfriend Peter Bullen spotted the strange sight on grazing land near Strickland House Farm stables off Green Lane.
The adult bird flew down to feed with a group of traditional black crows.
The couple thought it may be an exotic pet which had escaped from an aviary or a zoo, or a stocky pigeon. But closer examination – and a bird book – revealed its true ancestry.
Since that time they have seen it on a semi-regular basis although, to date, they have yet to capture it on camera.
Miss Bean and Peter, who also regularly sees owls and bats near the farm, says they are "thrilled" to have seen one of the most unusual creatures in the British Isles.
Miss Bean, who is a student, said: "There was a noise one day of birds cackling and I looked out of the window to see what all the fuss was about and I could a magpie fighting with this strange white bird in the garden. It took me a bit to work out what it was.
"I thought it may be a cockatiel or some other pet that had escaped.
"But looking at its beak and its shape, it was clear that it wasn't anything like that at all.
"Now I see it on a semi-regular basis.
"We get lots of owls hooting and see them swooping around at dusk but this is even more exciting."
Her partner Mr Bullen, a 30-year-old construction plant driver, said: "It's definitely a white crow, there's no question. It acts like a crow, it looks like a crow, it is a crow, as simple as that.
"It's a sort of mucky white colour and I've lived in the country all my life but never seen anything like this before.
"I've seen it several times, the time at the end of last year.
"It doesn't seem to interact with the other crows.
"What it does is strut through the field looking at the floor searching for things to eat.
"You don't often see massive rarities in Standish so I'm quite chuffed to have seen this."
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust countryside manager Mr Workman said that if a white crow breeds with a black crow every fifth egg would produce a white chick.
He said: "I would guarantee this is the only white crow in the borough.
"I get phone calls about anything unusual seen in Wigan on the wildlife side but this is news to me.
"I've once see a white robin and about three years ago I saw a white rook over at Horwich which I last saw there about three months ago, but nothing in the borough like this in all the years I have been here.
"Crows can be identified by the beak shape and the fact that crows roll when they are flying but rooks fly very straight and up and down."
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Weather for Wigan
Saturday 04 February 2012
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Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
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