From lehmfinn@algorithms.com Wed Mar 04 05:28:19 1998
Concerning the "mystery" bunting photogrpahed in winter in Santa
Barbara, California, and posted on Joe Morlan's web page, and analyzed by
Michael Patten, I believe this is a bird I saw when I was still living in
California. Here are some various thoughts and observations:

The bird was found by Shawneen Finnegan and seen by a fair number of folks
over its only-two-day stay in January 1993. We all identified it as an
Indigo at the time. This constituted about the fifth winter record for
Santa Barbara County (two of which involve adult males). There are NO
winter records known there for Lazuli Bunting. The bird was photographed by
Don Desjardin.

The photo on the web page appears a bit yellow-tinted, at least on our
computer.

I wrote up a description of the bird at the time in my field notes. Here
are some salient highlights: "A warm-brown bunting above (slightly paler on
back) and on wings, with warm rusty-buff wingbars. Bluish to flight
feathers, rump, and tail. Paler face. Warm buff wash across breast. A few
dusky broad blurry faint streaks to flank region; not obvious on breast.
Tail jerk. Sharp 'pit' call. Probable male."

>From the above, I think the bird still largely sounds like an Indigo, and a
male at that. But what about the apparent lack of breast streaking in
winter?

Michael's discussion brings up good points on the Indigo vs. Lazuli vs
Varied problem, which does appear to be a much underappreciated one. To my
eye, the biggest problem with Indigo and Lazuli is NOT with birds that look
like this one, but with dull Indigos: birds that don't show particular
warmth to the upperparts, and whose wingbars are fairly thin and definitely
more off-whitish than rich buff. Such Indigos are fairly routine in the
East. They are not rare. (And, no, I don't think they are Lazulis, either!)
So, what I think this means is that some duller Indigos in the West are
probably being passed off as Lazulis, although I do not think the opposite
is happening much in the East, where Lazuli is a MUCH MUCH rarer vagrant
than Indigo is in the far West.

Then there is the problem of  female and immature hybrid Indigo X Lazuli
Buntings. A true nightmare, as I can imagine they looking very close to the
dull Indigos I described above. I don't now of anyone who has identified
such in the field, only males (as Michael mentions).

Paul Lehman