Towheeblog

The fine hatching on the top of the head seems to indicate a juvenile which means you wouldn’t have seen this bird before last April. TWI ITHER BIRDERS, BOTH FAMILIAR WITH OUR LOCALS, TELL ME THIS LOOKS LIKE A GOLDEN-CROWNED. CERTAINLY THE CHEST MARKINGS ARE NOT STREAKY ENOUGH FOR SONG…MY ERROR.

How common is such plumage aberration? Here’s one answer I found: “Cornell’s Project FeederWatch collected data on plumage variations from the years 2000 to 2007, and only 1,605 unusual-looking birds were reported. This may sound like a high number, but given that FeederWatchers reports on 5.5 million birds each winter, this is a small percentage.” IT IS ALMOST INFINITESIMAL.