[Tweeters] towhee bill structure?

[Peggy Mundy]

Hi Tweets,Today in my backyard I found some bird feathers and a nearby bird skull under one of my Douglas fir trees.  The feathers were in bad shape, but were black with white markings, they appeared to be the remnants of a wing, likely a male spotted towhee.  The skull is bare except for a couple of small, black feathers, it is intact and looks consistent with spotted towhee except the bill is the same light color of the rest of the skull.  So I am wondering if, during decomposition, the pigmented keratin layer separates from the underlying bill skeleton.  I'm guessing these remains fell out of the tree during our recent stormy weather, I can't help but wonder how long they have been up there. 
Peggy MundyBothell, WA

peggy_busby at yahoo.com@scenebypeggy on Instagram
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