How do we explain the white feathers of an albino peacock? Peacock feathers are supposed to produce colours by surface structures modulating the light (in addition to the usual absorption/reflection mechanism)... < But how does that explain the existence of an albino peacock? < Does albino mutation change the physical structure of feathers in addition to the lack of colour pigments? Does anyone have a close comparison of the physical difference of the albino vs coloured peacock feathers?

The surface structuresa that are responsible for the structural coloration of peacock feathers are actually barbules and rods made of the very same biopolymer that is responsible for pigmentation in many other animal species, namely melanin. Just as in other animals, melanin is produced in the melanocyte cells which reside in the skin's epidermis. The conditions of albinism or leucism are due to mutations to genes responsible for melanin expression in those cells, or their absence. So although structural coloration is resposible for the colorful peacock feather, it is the same mechanism that leads to colorless feathers as in other animals.

**Reference**

a Zi, Jian, et al. "Coloration strategies in peacock feathers." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100.22 (2003): 12576-12578. <