PoorMatty:Yes, it's a seasonal thing. The entirety of the plumage gets duller for the winter, but the cap in particular becomes dark dusky with a pale stripe down the middle.
Thanks. Good to know. It always seems a little odd to me that two birds of the same species sitting a few feet apart can be at such different stages of transitional plumage. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Individual differences account for a lot of what makes it so challenging to identify all of these critters.
