Very interesting, Pete. Bob, Diane, Ken and I watched Snow Buntings "digging" and rubbing in the snow today, too. One was practically flinging snow around cartoon style. In Lansing.
________________________________ From: bounce-125404995-81221...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-125404995-81221...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Peter Saracino <petersarac...@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2021 4:43 PM To: Cayuga birds <Cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Color change without molt I recently read a curious account in "Naturally Curious Day by Day" (Mary Holland) concerning the plumage of snow buntings. According to Ms. Holland, the totally white head and belly and jet-black head of a breeding plumage male is not the product of a Spring molt. Evidently snow buntings molt their feathers once/year in late summer. The breeding change in the Male's plumage is due to the fact that beneath the colored feather tips, the back feathers are pure black and the body feathers are all white. The male wears off all of the feather tips by actively rubbing them on snow, which reveals his black-and-white breeding plumage. So says the book. Today I was watching a huge flock of snow buntings on Fort Hill Rd on the boundary between the Phelps/Seneca Townline, north of Geneva, NY. They were working a manure spread that was sandwiched between 2 strips of snowy field. To my surprise and amazement, many of the birds were rubbing their bellies in the snow! Some of the birds simply rubbed their bellies while other rubbed their bellies and also tossed some snow around with their head and beak. This time of year their heads are brownish but will be all white come time to breed. Anyway it was a cool thing to observe so hot on the heels of having read about it. The things we see when we look! Pete Sar P.S. I see that Sibley actually has a nice drawing of this in his "Birds East" book, pg. 333. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
