I've examined the two photos, taken by Dennis Paulson, of the pale bunting
found at Harrison Hot Springs last November and, though some feather tracts
are concealed, I believe the bird's plumage to be well within the range of
those shown by McKay's Bunting.

Over the past several weeks, I've been through nearly all printed matter
available that pertains to the identification of Snow and McKay's buntings
and have spent much time examining the female McKay's that was, up until
recently, being seen at the Iona South Jetty.

The Harrison Hot Springs bird has been identified as a hybrid or hybrid
male. It actually appears to be a female. One scapular, visible in one of
the photos, shows a sharply pointed dark center. In no male plumage of
either Mckay's or Snow do individuals show a wing bar (created by dark bases
to greater coverts) like that seen in one of the photos. Also hybrid males
are believed to show black scapulars in summer. Although this black would
be partly concealed in fresh plumage, it should be more evident than what is
seen in the Harrison Hot Springs bird. Hybrid males should also have a
mantle that is white-centered. This is not the case with the Harrison Hot
Springs bird. Furthermore the black in its mantle takes the form of
chevrons; if the bird were a male, a scaly appearance to the mantle should
be discernable.

In many respects, the bird closely resembles the Iona South Jetty female
McKay's. It differs in showing a dark wing bar. While this could be
interpreted as a hybrid character, many first-year female McKay's show such
a wing bar. At best, only three rectrices (R1, R2, and perhaps R6) are
visible in the photos. The patterns in these do not rule out female
McKay's. Also the bird is simply too pale to be a hybrid female. Indeed
its most posterior tertial shows extensive white.

I'd call this bird a female (probably first-winter) McKay's Bunting.
Hybrids, though regular, are far less common than pure McKay's. It's
looking to me like there was a larger than normal movement of McKay's
Buntings southward along the coast last fall. Could global warming be
impacting this species? Who knows; perhaps McKay's are more regular along
the coast of BC than we realize. After all, the Harrison Hot Springs bird
was--in my opinion--misidentified, and the Iona South Jetty female might
have gone unnoticed had it not been accompanied by a male.

Regards,
Jason Rogers
Banff, AB
hawkowl at hotmail.com