The longspurs, as with House Sparrows, have light tips to the breast
feathers. The light tips wear off over the course of the winter revealing
the black breast of the nuptial plumage. The Hoquiam longspur is currently
in basic (winter) plumage. I suppose there is lots of individual variation
on how much black shows at the beginning of the winter.

This is my rudimentary understanding of the situation. If anyone else has
a more technical explanation I welcome the input.

Tom Schooley, Olympia WA , dunlin at mail.tss.net
"The earth that directed itself instinctively in its former phases
seems now to be entering a phase of conscious decision
through its human expression." -Thomas Berry

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From: Dan Lindsay <susandan2 at earthlink.net>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: the Hoquiam longspur
Date: 29 November, 1999 5:15 PM

I was one of the happy group viewing the Chestnut-Collared Longspur at the
Hoquiam sewage lagoon on Sunday morning. The little bird made his
appearance while the eastern sky was still red with a lovely sunrise. His
co?perative nature was delightful!

I was very surprised that he still wore much of his courting attire. If a
bird hasn't reached winter plumage by 29 November, when will he reach it?
Do birds sometimes remain in breeding plumage all year long? Can anyone
offer explanations here?
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