Tweeters,

Jason Rogers, in the attached message to TWEETERS, and in an earlier
message to BCVANBIRDS, argues that both the bird at Iona Island that
we have been calling a "probable female McKay's Bunting", and the
Harrison Lake bird photographed in November by Dennis Paulson, and
identified as a McKay's X Snow Bunting hybrid, are in fact pure
McKay's Buntings. He states that he considers the Harrison Lake bird
to be "misidentified".

First of all, let me state that there is a possibility that Jason is
correct.
Separating female or immature McKay's from Snow Buntings in
non-breeding plumage can be tricky, especially as hybrids are rather
frequent. However, I tend to give more weight to the opinion of an
expert, in any area of science, than to that of a non-expert.

The statements we have made on the identity of both birds-- the
Harrison Lake hybrid and the Iona I. female-- are based on comments by
Dan Gibson, who reviewed the relevant photos. Dan is the Collections
Manager at the University of Alaska Museum, and one of the top experts
on the birds of Alaska, with many publications to his credit. He has
served on the ABA Checklist Committee, and was editor or co-editor of
the "Alaska" region in AMERICAN BIRDS (now NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS) for
many, many years. For the record, the University of Alaska Museum
contains 30 specimens of McKay's Bunting (as well as 81 specimens of
Snow Bunting). I am sure Dan has seen McKay's Buntings in life quite a
few times, as opposed to the two birds (or maybe one) that Jason has
seen-- the male and presumed female at Iona Island.

Gibson stated (referring to the Iona I. female), in a letter to Rick
Toochin and Mark Wynja which was circulated on the BCVANBIRDS group:

"The image looks to me like a hyperboreus [=McKay's]-- with a lot of
tail black. The bird may be a hybrid/intergrade, but it looks to me
more like a hyperboreus than a nivalis [=Snow Bunting]. (Comments in
square brackets are mine.)

This hardly sounds like a conclusive identification, which is why we
have referred to the female Iona I bird as a "probable" McKay's. The
male McKay's at Iona-- whose identity is not in question-- has not
been seen since December 29, and is suspected to have perished.

With all due respect to Jason Rogers-- who appears to have researched
his identification literature carefully-- when confronted with a
difference in opinion between him and Dan Gibson, I am far more
inclined to accept Gibson's opinion. Considering that Gibson is in
charge of a bird collection which includes a large series of both
McKay's and Snow Buntings, and that Gibson certainly has far more
experience in life with McKay's than Rogers, I think this is a
reasonable position to take. Studying books alone does not make one an
expert on bird identification. There is no substitute for experience
in the field, or for access to a good collection of bird specimens.
Sorry, Jason.

So if anyone is still planning to come look for the "probable" female
McKay's Bunting at Iona Island, don't expect to see a bird that you
can add to your life list with complete confidence. Although it's
always possible that better photos or descriptions may allow this bird
to be identified with certainty, the best we can do at present is
"probable".

NOTE: At present, we have had no reports of the "probable" McKay's
Bunting (and the 3 accompanying Snow Buntings) since January 10, but
if the birds are seen again (I suspect they are still there), we will
get that information onto the Vancouver RBA as soon as possible.


Wayne C. Weber, Ph.D. (Ornithology)
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net



----- Original Message -----
From: Jason Rogers <hawkowl at hotmail.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 8:44 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Harrison Hot Springs bunting


> 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
>
>