Pahrump resident Tom Ferguson may not be a professional photographer, but he is an avid enthusiast of the activity, and he recently captured images of something both rare and intriguing – a raven that is not the typical glossy black but instead, an eye-catching white.
Known as leucism, this white coloration is a genetic condition caused by a loss of pigmentation due to an absence of the cells that produce melanin.
“This condition is sometimes confused with albinism, which is a genetic mutation where the animal is born without the enzyme essential to produce melanin,” an article from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states, adding that leucism does not affect eye color as albinism does. “A bird has a roughly one in 30,000 chance of being born with the condition. This makes the white raven a true oddity of the sky and worthy of the pomp and circumstance shown to them.”
Ferguson certainly thinks the white raven roaming Pahrump’s skies is due some recognition. While he did not provide an exact location for the corvid, as he does not want the birds to be driven off by increased traffic or harassed in any way, he did submit several photographs to the Pahrump Valley Times to share the sight with his fellow community members.
“My son-in-law lives in the southwest area of Pahrump. He was walking his dog early one morning and spotted the white raven,” Ferguson explained in an email when asked what had drawn his attention to the bird. “He called me and I waited until early the next morning to see if I could spot it. He gave me a general location between a couple of major streets and I was in the area about 5:30 a.m. or so.”
Ferguson said he first rolled down his windows and used his ears to search, listening for the sounds of raven calls. He ended up spying a group of ravens in the distance and made his way over, finding that the group was made up of four black ravens and one white raven. Over the course of the next four or so days, he continued to seek out that white raven and has taken dozens upon dozens of pictures of her.
“I say ‘her’ because it seemed as if the other ravens deferred to her around any food,” Ferguson said. “They would let her work it over before they got involved. I have never seen that type of raven action before. Usually, they fight over every scrap of food. Her mates just gathered around and didn’t bother her at all.”
The 87-year-old Ferguson’s love of photography began many years ago, when he was young man in the U.S. Marine Corps serving during the Vietnam War.
“I served in 1st Force Recon Co., FMF Pacific. My job was radio/telegraph operator,” Ferguson detailed. “I spent months aboard submarine SS-313 Perch on missions along the entire West Coast and Alaska. Along with my other equipment, I have a 35mm camera to take photos of any and everything that the orders were interested in. So, I guess it all started back then.”
That love was reinforced throughout his 35-year career as a commercial diver and has never waned, following him into retirement. And his current passion extends far beyond ravens. He is a deep admirer of an assortment of raptors and other birds and critters, too.
“Goshawks, Cooper hawks and sharp-shinned hawks, flickers, flycatchers, western bluebirds and cedar waxwings were a favorite when I was living in Alturas, California. Moving to Arkansas, it was cardinals and moving to Montana, it was the Canadian geese and duck populations,” Ferguson said. “Here in Pahrump since 2025 I believe, it’s been mainly burrowing owls, red tail hawks and now I’m after kestrel hawks. If it flies or runs, I’m after it!”
When it comes to tips Ferguson would offer other amateur wildlife photographers, he said it’s really not complicated.
“You simply need a decent camera and mostly, the time to freely spend outside,” he concluded. “I do advise folks to take your camera, even to the grocery store, because you never know what you will see until it is right in front of you. Carry or have available a good bird and/or wildlife reference source, they are helpful in telling you what you see. Oh yeah, and you need lots of patience!”
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
