Yellow-faced mockingbird?

[jimbarnett]

I live in Orlando and a few weeks ago I took a picture of a Northern Mockingbird and later notice that it had a yellow face.  I figured it was a stain from eating something. I have photographed this bird multiple time over the last 2 weeks and the "stain" is till there.

Is it a stain?

Is it genetic?

Or is it a subspecies of which I'm unfamiliar?

 

Just looking for some input!

[Hasan]

Perhaps pollen? Though I'm not sure why a Mockingbird would have pollen

[jimbarnett]

That was my original thought.  But why would a Mockingbird have pollen on its face? And wouldn't the pollen wash off over time? I have been seeing the yellow faced bird for over 2 weeks.

[Charlie Spencer]

That's an interesting bird!

[Candydez12]

It must be stained then, wow, really interesting ? 

[DLecy]

1 hour ago, Hasan said:

Perhaps pollen? Though I'm not sure why a Mockingbird would have pollen

Pollen seems reasonable, especially if it’s eating from a continued source such as a flowering ornamental. Apparently they enjoy French fries too. Really, who doesn’t though?!
 

From BOW: 
Because fruit is a critical component of the fall and winter diet, the geographic expansion of this mockingbird's range northward in the ne. US may be related to plantings of a particularly favored winter fruit, Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora; Stiles 1982b).

 

As obligate frugivores in winter, mockingbirds probably serve as important seed dispersers for native (e.g. Orrock 2005) as well as invasive (e.g. Bartuszevige and Gorchov 2006) plant species.

Adults have been observed drinking sap from recently pruned deciduous trees (KCD), eating flowers of various ornamental shrubs and, in urban areas, eating garbage - such as discarded French fries (JUM,GAL).