>I saw at least six pictures from the front--none showed a SOLID black
>breast. Is it possible that from certain angles the black barring would
>hide the white? The bird in the pictures definitely didn't have a solid
>black breast, but it did have a lot more black barring than I expected
>after not seeing much black at all from the side. Also no one has
>responded yet about which sex is more likely to be this far from home.
>Maybe there just isn't any data on this kind of thing.
>wjansen

The bird couldn't be expected to show solid black underparts at this time
of year. The black "barring" is because the tips of the feathers are pale
and the bases dark, so when they're spread, this shows as barred.

We definitely don't have enough information to say which sex is more likely
to wander (well, at least not in CCLOs). Immatures always seem more likely
as vagrants than adults, but, with this bird's coloration, it seems clear
that it is an adult.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416