The unique bird – which is almost entirely snow-white, save for its beady black eyes – was spotted flitting between two trees, seemingly gathering materials to make a nest.

The part-albino robin, which is even sporting an almost-white beak, “stuck out like a sore thumb” as it perched on a branch above a cycle path in Middlesbrough, North US, said wildlife photographer Brian Matthews.

But the bird seemed unfazed by passers-by – and was even flanked by another robin, with its token red chest.

Brian said: “The white robin was a bit skittish, because it was very easy to see. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

“They’re really rare – you usually only see one every couple of years around the UK.

“And even then, they’re not usually as white as this one – usually they have a little bit of grey or brown in them.

“This one is almost entirely white, apart from its eyes – even its beak is almost white.”

Brian added that the two robins were seen hopping around gathering food first thing in the morning last Thursday.

And he said: “Albino robins, or part-albino robins like this one, tend to struggle to find a mate, and they often don’t last as long because they get picked on by the other birds.

“But people who live on a housing estate near the cycle path say that this one has been around since at least October – so it’s doing alright for itself.

“And it seemed to be making a nest – so hopefully it has found itself a mate, maybe the other robin that it was with.”