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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KenM" data-source="post: 1781028" data-attributes="member: 57880">To all,When I 'first' laid eyes on this bird at the aforesaid distance...just after seeing 1 Adult male RB. I can categorically state....that I didn't know what I was looking at!  ie. the 'isolated ear coverts' appeared chestnut! and the apparent smaller size with 'snow white' underparts and pale upperparts threw me completely!  I could see that it was a bunting on jizz and structure...but not one that I could compare against either in the field and or images. I then sought to 'close' the distance and unexpectedly found a field gate perhaps 80m closer. It was from here that I procured the 'definitive' images. What at c200m appeared to be chestnut ear coverts, morphed into....black ear coverts with a chestnut crown at c100m!  I thank you all...for supplying the respective images today, which in the main to my eye, with all it's limitations! are strongly suggestive to me of schoeniclus, in as much as they all have a super that is being gradually eroded by the 'requisite black hood'. This bird had no super,with a short chestnut crown and black ear coverts. The fact that there would appear to be so few images of this 'transient plumage phase' might suggest that it is very 'short lived'. When I saw Sean Minns PRB image I thought that the head pattern was the closest to date.Regards</blockquote>