MOLT AND PLUMAGE VARIATION BY AGE AND SEX IN THE CALIFORNIA AND BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS

Abstract

Despite much recent interest in the systematics and demography of the California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) (Atwood 1988, 1991; Phillips 1991; Mellink and Rea 1994), the molts and plumages of this species have not been described in detail, though treated briefly by Swarth (1902), Ridgway (1904), Woods (1949), and Dunn and Garrett (1987).