“Piebald” or “pied” refers to a condition known as partial leucism whereby the ratio of white to normal-colored skin can vary considerably not only between generations, but between different offspring from the same parents, and even between members of the same litter.
This is more common in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species.
Leucism is a condition affecting the development of pigmentation cells in animals or birds which results in white patches and in some rare cases the animal or bird turns totally white.
More common than a complete absence of pigment cells is localized or incomplete hypopigmentation, resulting in irregular patches of white on an animal that otherwise has normal coloring and patterning.
