Date: 10/13/26 1:02 pm
From: 'Buzz Schaumberg' via Colorado Birds <cobirds...>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Couch's Kingbird Feather Conditions - Arapahoe
Thank you.


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Buzz Schaumberg 

On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 12:57 PM, Paul Malinowski <pillarpaul...> wrote:

Interesting link, Nathan. Thank you. Here's a photo I got Friday showing the distinct orange crown patch on her.


Paul MalinowskiLittleton, CO 
On Mon, Oct 12, 2026 at 6:05 PM Nathan Pieplow <npieplow...> wrote:

Hi all,
I got a spread-wing photo of the Couch's Kingbird that shows not all the flight feathers are worn:
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/666136706
The outermost two primaries, P10 and P9, are very worn, but the next few are fresh. Comparing their shapes with those at https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/kingbirdsX.htm makes it clear that the Colorado Couch's must be a female. I suspect it is a juvenile female, based on molt pattern, primary shapes, and the bare patches in the underwing visible in Paul Malinowski's photo, but I am not great at ageing birds by molt, so I'd love to hear other opinions. Juveniles are not supposed to have the orange crown patch which many people (not me) reported seeing.
Nathan PieplowBoulder
On Sat, Oct 10, 2026 at 8:45 AM David Suddjian <dsuddjian...> wrote:

Jared, This BIRD BOMBS episode I'm Molting! offers a good primer on feather molt in our birds. 
David
On Sat, Oct 10, 2026 at 7:30 AM Paul Malinowski <pillarpaul...> wrote:

Jared, I noticed that too this afternoon. Look at the bare spots in this photo as well as the worn feathers.


Paul MalinowskiLittleton, CO
On Fri, Oct 9, 2026 at 6:49 PM Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso...> wrote:

I enjoy reading Birds of the World, but I don't understand plumages, molts, and the terminology used to describe them. So it's hard for me to understand what the Couch's Kingbird currently at Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve in Arapahoe County should look like. But the bird, who I visited for the first time this afternoon, looks to be really worn to me. Could someone out there who both has access to Birds of the World and understands the terms of molting, offer some perspective on this?

Here's a couple photos from this afternoon that show what I mean.




- Jared Del RossoCentennial, CO

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