The Summer Tanager I reported last week had a very yellow bill. I haven't
had such good looks at one before and this was the first I'd noticed. I
looked at my photos of the one from Westmoreland and it shows some yellow,
but not nearly as pronounced. Looked it up in Peterson and Sibley and
neither of them mention yellow bills; both show it as neutral or "pale."

Is there much variance in ST bill color? Maybe this bird was getting a lot
of beta-carotine or whatever that stuff in carrots is called?

Thanks,

fdp

Still hoping for another chance when I have my camera with me...

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Fred Pierce (DNRC)- avialantic.com
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