Trailmark Reservoir

No, the orange plume feathers (known as "chick ornaments") on these youngsters is not the work of some human teenage tagger with a spay can, it's actually an adaptation resulting from the parents preference to feed the most colorful chick in the clutch. The two adults were feeding a total of four chicks, not necessarily all their own as this species is notorious for brood parasitism, where another female will slip her own eggs into the nest. Pretty sneeky huh?