What bird was this?

Condatis

I spotted a bird in Dublin on Wednesday which I don't recall seeing before.

It was, perhaps, one third the size of a pigeon. Black and white, very sharp black an white – nothing like magpie hues.

For the most part the upper body was white and the lower black with some white flecking in the black.

The head, I think, was black and the beak a distinct orange.

The bird flew a few times between railings around a park and the ground. I could not get close enough to take a picture with my phone – anything closer than about 15 meters and it moved off.

Any ideas?

whyulittle

Leucistic Blackbird?

Mothman

whyulittle wrote: »

Leucistic Blackbird?

I was going to ask was it in UCD

whyulittle

Oh that's that bird! I just took a good looking shot from Google Images.

http://drimnaghbirdwatch.blogspot.com/2011/01/nutcracker-ucd.html

Condatis

Mothman wrote: »

I was going to ask was it in UCD

It was in Pearse Square, off Pearse Street. It was flitting around the edge of the park and when it got fed up with me trying to take a picture it flew to the roof of No. 33.

The white area as described above was really quite solid with little black. Quite different from the picture posted above by whyulittle. But otherwise it appears to be the same animal.

Is it unusual?