Orange-crowned Warbler with a bit of a mask? (1 Viewer)

[SueO]

I have an Orange-crowned Warbler that keeps feeding on my Hummingbird feeder. I have watched it through the window without my glasses on for some time. Today, I took some pictures and was surprised to see he had a bit of a mask. I'm sure this has to be an OCW, but I've never seen one like this. Is this a common coloration and I've just never seen it?

 

[Nutcracker]

Matted feathers soaked in flower nectar (or hummingbird feeder 'nectar' from the 1st pic!) and then picked up dirt on the sticky sugar and dried out. It'll be OK once it has a good long wash.

 

[SueO]

You mean I fell for the old, stained face trick? You're probably right. The first photo was shot through my window and cropped. I have a few more outdoor shots I'm going to look at closely to see if they show matted or dirty chin feathers more clearly. Thank-you. You'd think I would have seen enough birds to figure that out.

 

[SueO]

The Yellow-rumped warbler is a much neater eater.

 

[Nutcracker]

It's been well brought up 😂