ML488117751

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This local celebrity was found by Nancy Palmer on 25 September and is still present. Painted Buntings are very rare in California with most records in the Fall. All three previous mainland San Francisco records are from late September. This extremely drab individual is a juvenile, probably female. The greenish tint on the back was not easy to see in the field. Note the pale base to the bill and the pale tips to the wing coverts forming a faint wing bar. These features indicate retained juvenal plumage. Two subspecies are recognized. Birds from the Southwest (P. c. pallidior) are smaller and paler than nominate birds from the Southeast. This individual is at the extreme of pale coloration. These two populations which are separated by a broad gap also have different molt and migration strategies. In fact "pallidior" migrates in juvenal plumage while "ciris" does not. The fact that our bird is a migrating juvenile confirms the subspecies "P. c. pallidior."

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

ISO

200

Focal length

247 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

1024 pixels x 681 pixels

Original file size

402.79 KB