Mike Donahue wrote:

" I'm surprised that some of the more vocal members on tweeters didn't catch
this, but JUVENILE Zonotrichias are heavily streaked below, and
without head stripes. This plumage is only worn a short time after
fledging, after which they molt into first-winter (or more accurately
first basic) plumage. Due to the time of year, I'm assuming that the
hybrid that Jon Anderson banded was a first basic bird. "

Yes indeed, Mike, the juvenile zono was in first basic plumage. As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out whether the white throat and black malar stripes are definitive for hybridization. A number of the Emberizinae (sparrows and buntings) exhibit this gular 'ground color' - from White-crowned sparrows to Swamp Sparrow to Sage Sparrow to several of the Aimophila sparrows to the Green-tailed Towhee!

I appreciate your search of the Burke's collection of Zonotrichias, as it seems to indicate that the white throat, etc. is noteworthy. I plan to do a bit of research into this, and, if it is indeed the consensus of the experts that this was a hybrid, will prepare a note for the literature (Washington Birds?). As a note, I had a report that a bird with similar plumage was netted and banded last month at Malheur NWR, Oregon. The banders reported the bird as a Gambel's White-crown...

On the subject of "juvenile" plumage, I was taught - according to Olin Sewell Pettingill's 'Ornithology' and Joel Carl Welty's 'The Life of Birds' - that "juvenile" referred to the age/lack-of-breeding-ability of the bird and that the plumage was properly defined as "juvenal". Any number of my biology profs beat this distinction into my consciousness back in the 70s.

I see, however, that a new generation of terminology regarding avian molt uses the term "juvenile" to describe the plumage consisting of juvenal feathers which are the first true contour feathers. Jenni and Winkler's "Moult and Ageing of European Passerines" (1994) refer to this plumage as "juvenile". But, hey, they're foreigners... :-) Kenn Kaufman's 1990 "Advanced Birding" used the term 'juvenal' when describing the plumage, and 'juvenile' when describing the bird's age, however. My Webster's defines juvenile as "2a: a fledged bird not yet in adult plumage", clearly referring to the term as a noun defining the age of the bird, rather than an adjective describing plumage. I was describing a juvenile zono that was in first-basic plumage.

Anyway, I appreciate the feedback from all who responded on the question of whether that bird might have been a hybrid.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net