In early June of 2016 a rare white Anna’s hummingbird appeared in the arboretum at the University of California. This was the first recorded sighting of this rare and beautiful bird in Santa Cruz. Since then, thousands of bird enthusiasts have come to see the exceptional bird. The bird is white do to a melanin deficiency caused by a condition known as Leucism. The white Anna’s hummingbird lacks the cells necessary to absorb the pigment into the feathers. It is different from the genetic condition, albinism, which is caused by the lack of melanin. While this phenomenon is exciting and rare to witness, life for the white hummingbird is precarious. Its lack of color can make the bird unattractive to mates. The lighter plumage provides little camouflage from predators like feral cats and hawks. In addition, the feathers lack the strength to protect the bird from harsh weather. This is a digital painting and composite created with modified background elements from Albert Bierstadt’s landscape painting, A Storm in the Rocky Mountains (1866).