Some bird species do not achieve their adult plumage for years. I’m not sure how to mark the Life Stage annotation - adult or juvenile?
Example for White-crowned Sparrows I photographed a few days ago:
First winter - Stripes on head are brown, not black as in adult. The bill is a darker orange pink. The auriculars are pale. (all from Sibley app)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146828166
Adult - This is an adult photographed on the same trip.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146828129
Since some birds do have their full adult plumage by their first winter, they will likely be given an Adult annotation. This bird is the same age, but just hasn’t developed adult plumage yet, so is recognized as a youngster…
What do other annotators do in this situation?
Patti