An obituary of sorts ran in the 13 May 1871 edition of the Cecil Whig for a leucistic blackbird that was captured near Elkton.
âMany of our readers have seen the remarkable bird, which was slightly wounded and captured by James B. Groome, Esq., in September, 1867, and which has since been on exhibition at the Drug Store of Arthur W. Mitchell, Esq., of this town. This bird, although unmistakably of the black bird, or Starling species, by a remarkable lusus naturae, had, when first captured, a white feather for every black one usually seen on birds of its class, but had the unmistakable red spot at the joint of each wing, while the bony substance of the beak and legs was white instead of black as in other birds of the Starling species. At each moulting season since this bird was captured, it has gradually changed its color, until the feathers that were white, were at last replaced by others of a light fawn color, while the red spots on the wings became each year larger and more b