I've only seen a handful and was not expecting that kind of yellow,
but a search through photos on eBird shows this feature on quite
a few birds, including this one of a bird in hand...
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61674596
On 12/8/2019 5:20 PM, clearwater@xxxxxxxx wrote:
Very cool find, Mike!
That flash of yellow on the front edge of the wing is interesting.
It shows up in two of the photos your checklist, and seems to be
symmetrical.
I've never noticed this in views of perhaps 80 to 100 Grasshopper
Sparrows here in Oregon, plus more back in the upper Midwest. But
I see that one of David Beadle's illustrations in James D. Rising's
guide to sparrows (Plate 12, especially illustration 32b) shows
this feature, as very thin yellow edge.
Could be something fun to watch for when nesting Grasshopper
Sparrows start to show up again in spring.
Joel
