Scott (your original post after the following),
Thanks for the info about the color patterns on immature male kingfishers.
My impression of the Marina sighting was that the rufous was blotchy and
down the sides of the belly, not in any structured band across the breast.
Neither was there a distinct bluish upper breast band, just a blue-greyish
"wash." I was thinking at the time: Either a molting adult female OR an
immature female, but with your new information, this kingfisher could well
be a young male! Very, very interesting.

Another note concerning the Semi-palmated plover: This bird had bright
yellow legs and immaculate plumage, i.e., the neck collar-band and the
facial markings were crisp black, etc., a fresh youngster of this year's
hatch? Do fledgling Semi-palmated plovers develop the alternate plumage
first, then the more subdued winter plumage in the fall? Alternately, in
the mature birds, do the breeding-color-orange legs change color first
followed by the feathers? I would expect an adult plover that may have
raised a brood this season to look more "scruffy"; my sighting definitely
appeared to be "freshly" feathered with starkly contrasting color (even
the stubby little orange-with-black-tipped bill looked polished.)

Time to check the more detailed reference books on this one, both Bent and
Dennis' Shorebirds "bible." Any thoughts or commentary?

Thanks again (hope you don't mind my cc'ing this post to Tweeters at
large; other folks may have an interest in this information.)

Cheers,
Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA

"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of
confusion and bamboozle requires vigilance, dedication, and courage."
-Carl Sagan-
***********************************************
On Tue, 21 Jul 1998, S&C Richardson wrote:

> Hi Maureen,
>
> Finally a kingfisher, eh?! Thanks for including it in your report. That
> Semipalmated Plover was sure an interesting find; I can't help with likelihood
> on that, but expect it's low low.
>
> Are you a WOS member? (Sorry if you've answered that question before.) I put a
> kingfisher article into the WOSNews issue that just came out and it reports my
> revelation: young male kingfishers can show lots of rufous. This makes a mess
> of a perfectly simple identification situation! Much too far into my efforts to
> compile kingfisher records, I learned about this feature. Makes me wonder about
> your "female" on the 20th.
>
> Scott
>
> --
> Scott Richardson
> Olympia, Washington
> salix at halcyon.com
>
>