From: Tom & Jo Heindel
Date: 6/27/00
Time: 3:02:42 PM
Remote Name: 209.221.198.115
Chris and Rosie hit the nail on the head when they wondered if this bird is molting into eclipse plumage. When first found the end of Mar the male was in fancy plumage. Males begin to molt the end of May and all are losing their colors towards the last of June which is right now. This hybrid is incredibly rare, only a few times has it been reported in the county in the last century, and while 2 different birds could have occurred it seems more likely that it was the same bird remaining for a time and undergoing a normal molt becoming less colorful and looking different than when seen in March.