A rare white sparrow has been spotted in Nottinghamshire for the first time.
The bird was spotted in the back garden of Sharon Dale's mother-in-law in Pinxton.
Its pale colour is caused by a lack of melanin and other pigments in the feathers - a condition called leucism.
It is different to an albino bird because they have normal coloured eyes.
Sharon said: "She told me she had a regular visitor to her garden feeders. At first she thought it was an escaped aviary bird, so she rang me up to come and take a look.
"I took my camera on the off chance it may be there, and it was.”
Although rarely reported, it is not the first time white sparrows have been spotted in the UK.
Two white fledglings were photographed on the Kennett and Avon Canal in Wiltshire back in May 2017.
Another young white sparrow was photographed being fed by its mother in Newport, South Wales, in July 2016.
UK house sparrow populations have declined gradually during the last 100 years.
Since the mid-1970s numbers in rural England have almost halved, while populations in towns and cities have dropped by almost 60 percent. The house sparrow is now red-listed a species of high conservation concern.
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