[birdky] Waterfowl quiz last word?

From: "Palmer-Ball, Brainard (EPPC OOS KNPC)" <Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxx>
To: "BIRDKY" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:15:05 -0400

I'm in agreement with David Roemer about the ID of the male scaup in our
last photo quiz, although I'm not *positive* that the bird can be
unequivocally identified in the photo. Regarding the head shape, I had
thought not necessarily the slope of the back of the crown, but more the
overall bulk of the head and bill looked good for Greater, but the head
shape in David's Lesser Scaup photos on the KOS web site certainly look
similar overall. Also, the wing pattern certainly looks more like Lesser
when compared to David's photos; in particular, the view of the far wing
from the *underside* on the lower (second) photo does not show the
translucence that it would seem should be there in the inner primaries
to be a Greater wing pattern. I had convinced myself that the inner
primaries were *light enough* to suggest it was more like Greater than
Lesser, and while even some wing pattern variation is apparent in
David's scaup flight photos, the pattern of the bird in question is much
closer to Lesser than Greater using those photos.
 
I might add one note concerning my perpetual state of frustration with
scaup wing patterns, that being that I have always and still to this day
find the scaup "wing-stripe" difference to be a *very* difficult field
mark to assess. I don't know how fast the beating outer wing of a scaup
is moving in flight, but the blur that any scaup wing becomes to the
visible eye in the field is certainly extreme! Only when loafing birds
have stretched a wing or flapped more slowly after bathing have I ever
thought I was properly perceiving the wing stripe pattern. In-flight
photos afford a unique opportunity to see something that is actually
seen clearly in the field only on rare occasions.
 
Also, if anyone has back issues of The Kentucky Warbler, more than 40
years ago KOS member, Haven Wiley, discussed the differences between
Greater and Lesser scaup (at a time when there were few records of
Greaters) in an interesting article entitled "Appraisal of Greater Scaup
Sight Records at Louisville" in Vol. 41 (1965), pp. 35-40.
 
So thanks to Rick Seelhorst for submitting the photos and David Roemer
for submitting the final word (unless anyone else cares to disagree with
the consensus!) on this quiz. 
 
bpb, Frankfort

[birdky] Waterfowl quiz last word?

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