Thanks to a couple of well-timed photos taken by Guy Monty, I've been able
to obtain a little more evidence to support the identification of the Iona
bunting as a female McKay's.

It can be seen in one of the photos that the dark areas of the Iona
bunting's primaries are brownish gray. This is further evidence that it is
a female, though the sharply-pointed dark centers of its scapulars--which I
mentioned in an earlier message--reliably sex it female.

In one photo, showing a spread tail, the amount of dark in Rectrix 3 seems
to be what a number of sources claim is diagnostic for McKay's. I must
admit, however, that it was difficult to ascertain how translucent the rects
were and if an additional area of dark in R3 was just the dark R2 showing
through.

The other photo shows a spread wing. In this photo, it can be seen that
Primary 1 is immaculate. This feather should show extensive dark in female
Snow Bunting. Even immature male Snow Bunting shows some dark in this
feather. Furthermore the Iona bunting's P2 is dark only in the tip of the
shaft.

The amount of dark in R3, P1, and P2 seems to show no intermediacy between
female Snow and female McKay's and, thus, further weakens the case for a
hybrid.

Regarding a size difference between Snow and McKay's, all of the literature
I've been through so far indicate that there isn't one. However McKay's is
a heavier bird (up to 15 g heavier), though this difference appears to be
based solely on the weights of three male McKay's in July.

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