A RARE white blackbird has been spotted in Worcester.

The white blackbird, formally named a leucistic blackbird, has been described as an unusual sight in the area. 

The bird was spotted and photographed in Lower Wick while it sat on top of a shed.

Leucistic blackbirds can be spotted by their white feathers, which is a pigment abnormality that occurs in their cells during development.

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Wendy Carter, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s communications officer, said some of these birds might just have one white feather, but to see one with more white feathers than black is unusual.

She added: "Whilst not rare, birds with this level of leucism are quite unusual.

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"The British Trust for Ornithology invites members of the public to submit records of leucistic and albino birds to their abnormal plumage survey.

"Of the 3000 or so records that have been submitted, about a third have been blackbirds that aren’t all black."

Often these birds can be confused for albino birds, but their white feathers are caused by an absence of feather pigmentation rather than an abnormality.

Albino birds can often be spotted by their pink eyes.

Worcester News: RARE: A white squirrel was also spotted in Worcester RARE: A white squirrel was also spotted in Worcester (Image: Dave Grubb)

In 2014, a rare leucistic squirrel was spotted in Pitchcroft in Worcester.

It was seen playing on the grass with four grey squirrels.

The all-white squirrel was thought to be one of only 50 in the country.