I spent 30 minutes or so Sunday afternoon studying it at up to 10 feet
and must say I saw no chestnut on the nape and judged the wing bar to be
buffy whitish formed by the tips of the median primary coverts. I could
never see the belly that well so it just seemed smudged blackish in the
center rather than barred (though I think I glimsped so barred effect on
one occasion or another). It certainly seemed very plain about the face
for an adult male, but I've never seen this plumage before...

Gene Hunn.

On Tue, 5 Dec 1995, Wes Jansen wrote:

> I was unable to make it to the Fill to see the bird, so I did it
> vicariously by senting my birder/photographer buddy over to see it. He
> did see and photograph it--about twenty good shots. After a one-hour
> development, he brought the photos over to my office. From looking at
> his photos and comparing them to the National Geographic field guide, we
> both thought it to be a female. There didn't seem to be any discernable
> yellow on the throat like the guide shows for a winter male. Also the
> black barring on the chest didn't appear in the photos. When we compared
> the photos to the illustration of a winter-plummaged female, it looked
> like a match. Neither of us are experts however, and this was a lifer
> for both of us. So I would appreciate any clues distinquishing this bird
> as a male rather than a female.
> wjansen
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> On Mon, 4 Dec 1995, Russell Rogers wrote:
>
> > Hello Tweeters,
> >
> > I managed to find the bird very easily at around 7:20 this morning. I
> > spent no more than 10 minutes looking for it (I think that is a record
> > for me and the fill, as I usually don't seen any of the reported birds from
> > there).
> >
> > I was able to study it from 7:20 till about 9:00. At times it was no more
> > than ten feet away and in bright morning light. From this close
> > observation I can conclude that the bird was and adult basic plumaged
> > male.
> >
> > Usuing the Identification Guide to North American Passerines (Pyle
> > et. al)
> >
> > Male because it had a very faint chesnut wash to the nape (which was only
> > visible at close range and in good light) and the lesser wing coverts were
> > *very white*.
> >
> > Adult because the tail feathers were truncate (i.e. squareish). Imm.
> > birds have pointed tail feathers (like a woodpecker).
> >
> > I Hope lots of people get to see this bird, it is very interesting.
> >
> > Russell
> >
> > Russell Rogers
> > 4510 Glenn Way SW
> > Seattle, Washington 98116
> > (206) 935-6280
> > rrogers at halcyon.com
> >
> >
>