Piebald
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{{otheruses4|the black and white spotting pattern in animals|the musical group|Piebald (band)|additional examples of parti-coloured animals|pied}}
[[Image:Irish Tinker horse 2.JPG|thumb|right|300px|A piebald horse, tobiano pattern]]
A '''piebald''' is an animal, especially a [[horse]], that has a spotting pattern of large white and black patches. The colour of the horse's skin underneath its coat is both black (under the black patches of hair) and pink (under the white patches). This alternating colour pattern is irregular and asymmetrical. Other than colour, it is similar in appearance to the [[skewbald]] pattern. Some animals also exhibit colouration of the irises of the eye that match the surrounding skin (blue eyes for pink skin, brown for dark). The underlying genetic cause is related to a condition known as [[leucism]].
==Piebald horses==
In [[British English]] ''piebald'' (black and white) and ''[[skewbald]]'' (brown and white) are together known as ''coloured''. In [[North American English]], the term for all large spotted colouring is [[Pinto horse|pinto]], with the specialized term [[American Paint Horse|"paint"]] referring specifically to a breed of horse with [[American Quarter Horse]] or [[Thoroughbred]] bloodlines in addition to being spotted, whereas ''pinto'' refers to a spotted horse of any breed. Americans usually describe the colour shade of a pinto literally: black and white, brown and white, or bay and white.
[[Equine coat color genetics|Genetically]], a piebald horse begins with a [[black (horse)|black]] base coat colour, and then the horse also has an [[allele]] for one of three basic spotting patterns overlaying the base colour. The most common coloured spotting pattern is called [[tobiano]], and is a [[dominant gene]]. Tobiano creates spots that are large and rounded, usually with a somewhat vertical orientation, with white that usually crosses the back of the horse, white on the legs, with the head mostly dark. Two less common spotting [[gene]]s are the [[overo]] gene, that creates a mostly dark, jagged spotting with a horizontal orientation, white on the head, but dark or minimally marked legs. The [[sabino horse|sabino]] pattern can be very minimal, usually adding white that runs up the legs onto the belly or flanks, with "lacy" or [[roan (color)|roaning]] at the edge of the white, plus white on the head that either extendings past the eye, over the chin, or both. The genetics of overo and sabino are not yet fully understood, but they have [[recessive gene|recessive]] characteristics and can appear in the offspring of two solid-coloured parents, whereas a tobiano must always have at least one tobiano parent.
==Piebald in other animals==
[[Image:Common Grackle Leucistic.jpg|thumb|right|A piebald ([[Leucistic]]) [[Common Grackle]] ]]
[[Dog]]s, [[Bird]]s, [[cat]]s, [[pig]]s, dairy [[cattle]] and many other animal species may also be "[[pied]]" or piebald. [[Snake]]s, especially [[Ball Python]]s, may also exhibit seemingly varying patches of completely pigmentless scales along with patches of pigmented scales. The term was used in [[The Conservationist]] by [[Nadine Gordimer]] when referring to [[kingfisher]]s.
The [[bald eagle]] derived its name from the word "piebald", in reference to its white head and tail contrasting with its its dark body.
==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/coatcolor.php "Introduction to Coat Color Genetics"] ''from'' Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. Web Site accessed January 12, 2008
== See also ==
*[[Equine coat color]]
*[[Equine coat color genetics]]
*[[Skewbald]]
*[[Tricoloured (horse)]]
*[[Leucistic]]
*[[Pinto horse]]
*[[Pied]] (black and white or parti-colouring in other animals)
{{Equine coat colors}}
[[Category:Horse coat colors]]
[[Category:Dog anatomy]]
[[Category:Cats]]