I had forgotten all about this one. Seen on highway 1 south of Big Sur, on July 2, along the cliffs above the road. We have seen Lazuli Buntings near this spot before. This bunting seemed to either be a leucistic Indigo Bunting or a hybrid of Lazuli and Indigo Buntings - does occur, and other photos I have found are not a bad match for that.

Any opinions? (location Big Sur, CA, USA on 7/2/13)

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Pheucticus ludovicianus ....This was the target bird for the day, after reading that male and female plumage Rose-breasted Grosbeaks had been hanging around the discovery center at Andrew Molera for the last 3 weeks.

Did not see any adult males, but we found this bird just after hearing the distinct song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and I have to assume that this is the right id given the coloration of the beak, breast, and back. But where is it's tail? It is not foreshortened here - this bird really has very little that passes for a tail, and yet it certainly did fly off.

I have written to the Ventana Wildlife Society to see if they banded this bird.

Tags:   Pheucticus ludovicianus Andrew Molera SP 8/5/12 Rose-breasted Grosbeak

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This female condor was captivating. She posed, she preened, and she delighted a huge crowd of tourists before taking off. Her profile is here:

www.mycondor.org/condorprofiles/condor171.html

Tags:   Gymnogyps californianus Big Sur 7/13/13 California Condor

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Phoenix has a terrific story:

mycondor.org/condorprofiles/condor477.html

Tags:   Gymnogyps californianus Big Sur 8/5/12 California Condor

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