Julie in Bellingham wrote: There is a black-capped chickadee with a
completely white tail (instead of the typical blackish gray) that has been
frequenting my feeders for the past couple of months. Has anyone else
noticed any oddities like this in birds they've seen?

Julie:
I've noticed quite a few chickadees that visit my feeders have white spots
of one sort or another. Sometimes I can recognize individuals for awhile.
(Until they molt, I guess.) I always wondered what caused these. Injuries?
I know with horses, white hair will sometimes grow back over an injury and
it stays permanently that color, no matter what it was before. Do feathers
behave that way? It always seems to be the black-capped that have these
marks, not the chestnut-backed.

It would be interesting to know what these are, if anyone knows.

Christy in Bellevue, WA
christya at gte.net