What color are the wingbars distinctly described as being in Juvenile *Empidonax traillii* birds?
Answer
buffy brownish
Distinguishing adults from immatures during migration relies on understanding the molting cycle and plumage differences between age classes. Juvenile birds, while similar overall to adults, possess duller upperparts washed with brown. Critically, their wingbars are distinctly buffy brownish, which serves as a marker to differentiate them from adults wearing fresh Definitive Alternate Plumage, whose wing-bars are pale olive or pale buffy grayish-brown. This difference in feather edgings helps observers determine the bird's age, as young birds maintain this juvenile look until they undergo the post-juvenal molt (Prebasic I) late in the fall travel season.
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