Incredibly rare white peacock spotted in New Port Richey

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (WFLA) — A rare white peacock was spotted in New Port Richey on Friday morning.

News Channel 8 producer Sally Durwald captured the photo of the rare sight in her backyard.

According to Treehugger , white peacocks are incredibly rare. “Their feathers are white due to a genetic mutation known as leucism, which inhibits melanin from being deposited in their feathers,” the report said. Leucism does not impact a peacock’s eye color.

Treehugger also said that leucism only occurs in one type of peacock, the Indian peafowl, which typically has bright blue and green fanning feathers.

“It is believed that leucism affects only Indian peafowl because this is the species most commonly kept in captivity, and white peafowl are often specially bred to be so,” Treehugger reported.

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