Let me shed some light on this situation. First, yesterday afternoon, Nathaniel Biser sent me an email with an attachment showing the back of a bird at his feeder. I replied that I thought it was an Indigo Bunting but if he had a side shot that would clinch it. This morning around 0930, he sent me a profile shot then he did some digging on Cornell's web site and decided that it was a Varied Bunting. I sent around his second photo to the other MD eBird reviewers and those that replied agreed that it was an INBU and I told him so. At that point however he must have already submitted the checklist. Once it hit, a few of you saw it as Varied Bunting before he changed it.
Here's a link to the photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29296826@N02/8319982864/
So, the lesson learned is that unless a rarity report on eBird has a green check, meaning it's been validated by a reviewer, caveat emptor!
And yes, an Indigo Bunting in December is probably much more rare than a Painted Bunting!
Tyler Bell
<jtylerbell...>
California, Maryland
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