A juvenile brown magpie has been spotted frequenting the Howlong dog park.
A juvenile magpie is causing excitement at Howlong due to its unusual brown colouring.
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Judy Lockwood has been photographing and posting updates to social media regarding the young bird’s progress.
“I found it surprising that it was the only one out of the clutch that was brown,” she said.
“And it was smaller than the others.
“It’s usually out very early in the morning and has also been spotted at the golf club.
“Someone has called it a ‘latte’ magpie.”
Judy Lockwood from Howlong has been keeping a watchful eye on the young magpie.
The bird hatched at the Howlong dog park about three months ago with a rare condition called ‘leucism’, a genetic condition similar to albinism causing partial loss of pigmentation.
Unlike albinism, leucism does not affect the eyes, which retain their normal colour.
The condition gives its feathers a light brown colouring instead of the grey plumage that young magpies are more commonly known for.
According to Judy, a local Buddhist couple who feed the birds noticed him feeding among the galahs, cockatoos and other native birds without any fuss.
The brown magpie is the smallest of a family, or ‘mischief’, local to Howlong.
Reports on social media have since unearthed other brown magpie sightings.
A family of brown magpies, commonly known as a mischief or a tribe, is known to live at Modewarre, near Geelong in Victoria, and is the inspiration for local winery, Brown Magpie Wines.
Others have sighted brown magpies near Bendigo and Sunbury, and occasionally in South Australia.
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