Here are some more images of the orange-faced Spizella Sparrow. There appears to be an injury in the nostril area. Also the feathering appears strange to me with the tufts at the sides of the belly and in general the bird appears a bit scuffy. After looking abit more at the photos I am leaning against the color being cause by a foreign substance as it is completely absent on the birds back. If the pigment had been spread by preening it seems there would be some orange or yellow all over. Are there any records of xanthochroism to this extent in sparrows? All of the references I can find on line refer to birds where darker pigments, usually red are not expressed allowing the yellow to be evident. In this bird the brown and black pigments seemed to be covered by orange or yellow as in the case of hyperxanthism that Bert referred to. Is this worth a paper somewhere? http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/SpizellaIMG_6904_resize_zps21828018.jpg http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/SpizellaIMG_6911_resize_zps2a5d470d.jpg http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/SpizellaIMG_6920_resize_zps2c90ba72.jpg http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/SpizellaIMG_6960_resize_zpsfd1014d2.jpg http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/SpizellaIMG_6965_resize_zps60d8e21f.jpg http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n610/antshrike/SpizellaIMG_6673_resize_zpscc353b7d.jpg Dan Jones, Weslaco Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner
