Posted by Robin on January 01, 1970 at 00:00:00
Adult male Painted Buntings take 2 years to get full colors - some faster than others. Many times, hatching year females and males can't be differentiated in the hand. If the dull bird that you saw was a Painted Bunting, it would be a young male that was probably a non-breeder (back early) but that learned the song on the breeding grounds. It's a fairly unique song with consistent phrases and burry finch-like quality. Orchard Orioles do the same thing - 2 years for full breeding plumage but they will sing the song when young.