I apologize for the bad resolution, but perhaps somebody else can come up with a better picture. But, if you look closely, you can see a band of discoloration in this bird's beard, about halfway down.

I've taken a few birds over the years with aband or stripe of discoloration (blonde or orange) going across their beards. On this one, it was very pronounced. On at least one occasion, I've seen where a beard has been weakened and fallen off at that point, looking like it was perfectly snipped with a pair of shears, leaving only a burned orange tip on each hair.

It looks like there was a period of stunted growth or malnutrition that leaves a permanent "imprint" in the beard.

I'm just wondering what causes this, and why in some cases the strands break, and in others, they stay intact.