Just chatting to a neighbour who is sweeping up the leaves (nice to still have trees here) and we spotted a white robin waiting patiently for us to finish so he could snap up a few bugs.

We've had families of robins and backbirds here for 41 years - they visit me all the time - but I've never seen a white robin (well, very light grey but with the normal scarlet breast) before.

Is this a first?

Assuming that you got your bird spotting correct, this is probably a bird suffering from leucism, this was very common in the seventies with Blackbirds, which are also of the Thrush family as are Robins technically.
This ailment in birds causes a pigmentation problem rather like what has apparently happened to one of the most famous megastars in the world.
It is of note that in the wagtail family of birds, there was a variety called the Pied Wagtail and the White Wagtail. The RSPB, officially recognised this as just one species actually not that long ago and therefore, the "White Wagtail" does not officially exist anymore, probably because of the same pigmentation ailment in that species.
I went bird spotting with a friend and we had a very strange time identifying a Tern, as to which variety it was.
It was generally agreed in the end that it was a Black Tern but had become white in colour.


(before anybody asks, I did not cut and paste this info, sadly or maybe not so, these are things that I know about)

Well it's a very bright and happy robin, clearly fit as a fiddle, but looking it up on Google (I know nothing) it seems to be more like the White Throated Robin (native to Turkey) in that the breast is still scarlet.

I think we are going to become good friends. It seemed to like both me and my neighbour.

If it is the White Throated Robin, which is what is referred to as an "accidental",in the birding world, and you have local UK Robins in the area, the poor little thing needs to get out of the area fast as Robins are horribly territorial and aggressive to each other. They are almost racist in their behaviour, I saw 3 of them chase a Brambling into the bushes once , and the noise was incredible .

Not as gruesome as the Kingfisher though, which will actually kill another bird of the same variety that gets near it`s own territory.

By the way, you can set your watch by a Kingfisher, they are amazing in habitual behaviour.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3075737.ece

How about this from the Times?

Ah no Mart; my robin has a splendid red breast - it's the rest of him that is white.