Dan Gibson's last sentence in his analysis of the identification of the
female bunting at Iona is "The second bird looks to me like a female
hyperboreus-with room for discussion." Hyperboreus means McKay's Bunting.
Now that we are having some discussion , the experts are quick to dismiss
the value of nonexpert discussion. As far as I know, no one is saying that
this bird is definitely a hybrid McKay's Bunting, and no one is suggesting
it could be a Snow Bunting. Even Wayne admits it is probably a female
McKay's Bunting. So the issue is female McKay's Bunting or female hybrid
McKay's Bunting.
I personally observed the two McKay's Buntings at close range when they
were keeping each other company on December 19, when they were also
photographed together. I got the definite impression that these two birds
were a pair. The two McKay's were also seen by other skilled observers to be
simultaneously moulting their retrices, while the Snow Buntings in the flock
were not. These are minor clues that Dan didn't see. Now that the male
McKay's Bunting is gone, an important contextual clue is also missing. So
come to Iona and see for yourself this marvelous northern vagrant.
Mike Tabak
Vancouver B.C.