Hi everyone,



A couple days ago I posted about the Dark-eyed Junco (DEJU) with white patches on its head that has been frequenting our yard for several weeks.? Finally this morning I got a usable image for purposes of showing the plumage anomaly.? This is a link to the photo - http://www.tubbsphoto.com/-/tubbsphoto/detail.asp?photoID=9549989&cat=38992 .? The patches are pretty large and cover the cheek and auricular area.? Although this photo shows only one side of the bird, the opposite side of his head is identical in its coloration - so the unusual plumage is symmetrical when viewed from the front.? I don't remember the feather tract anatomy of the avian head well enough to know for sure, but it seems plausible that this is a single feather tract that shows the abnomality, thus the symmetry.? Hopefully someone on the list will be able to comment more knowledgeably on this.? Although the image doesn't show the complete bird, it shows enough to document the fact that the rest of the bird's plumage is quite normal for a DEJU.?



John Tubbs

Snoqualmie, WA

johntubbs at comcast.net

www.tubbsphoto.com