-- Off-topic, But Too Cooool Not To Pass Along --

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 Probably safe to say that Snowy Owls are among every birder’s favorite creatures. This very odd-colored one (nicknamed “Rusty” by admirers) showed up in Michigan recently:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/science/snowy-owl-orange-michigan-rusty.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3U4.rLUB.X_DLEj4qSr5F&smid=url-share

(if the above NY Times article is not accessible for you, here's another, earlier piece:

https://www.mlive.com/environment/2025/02/rusty-colored-michigan-snowy-owl-turning-heads-likely-a-genetic-mutation.html )

Auburn’s Dr. Geoffrey Hill, of some Ivory-bill notoriety, but also an expert on avian feathers weighs in believing the unusual coloring is most likely from dye or coloring applied somehow externally to the feathers. Bird researcher Scott Weidensaul agrees with the notion of external application (possibly de-icer fluid somewhere along the way), but others are less convinced of the external argument and lean toward some sort of biological or genetic interpretation. I'd tend to go with Dr. Hill here, and against the mutation-hypothesis... but we may well never know for sure. :(

(IF anyone does come across a more definitive explanation for this bird let us know; I haven't kept up on the story.)

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ADDENDUM 3/24:

I've yet to see any definitive explanation for this bird's coloration.... and given how repeatedly the bird has been seen, am a little surprised no one has yet come up with a single feather dropping from it -- one examined feather ought be sufficient to tell if the red hue is applied to the surface or intrinsic to the feather. This paragraph, at the end of one article, seems reasonable to me:

"Birding Wire note: It is interesting to note that when you study the photograph of the Snowy Owl in flight, taken by Julie Maggert, you can see that the plumage covering the underside of the owl is normally colored, while the orange-red coloration covers most of its anterior side of its wings and tail, its back, and its head, including parts of its face. This might suggest the owl was somehow sprayed from behind and it turned its head to the rear during the process. This would underline the possibility that the owl was accidently sprayed with de-icing fluid at an airport, especially considering that the open expanses of airports are seemingly a preferred wintering area for some Snowy Owls in the eastern Great Lakes region, as indicated by SnowStorm tracking information."