At this time of year, there are many yearling (hatched in 2014) males who are
not yet in full color. Having orange epaulets is not unusual for this age
group. I know of one orange-epauleted male that actually bred with orange
epaulets, but there were complex reasons he got a chance.
There is extensive variation in brightness and hue of epaulets and also degree
to which the males' contour feathers are all black or edged with brown. Brown
edgings are thought to mean a younger male.
Anne
On May 8, 2015, at 9:49 PM, W. Larry Hymes wrote:
For the past couple days we've had a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD with ORANGE
EPAULETS --- no red whatsoever. Have others noticed this in this species
before?
Larry
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W. Larry Hymes
120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
(H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
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