[texbirds] Hybrid Geese at Higgonbotham Park, Lubbock 1/9/2014
- From: Steve Collins <dcollins@xxxxxxx>
- To: <leasbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2014 19:42:55 -0500
This afternoon I noticed a Snow Goose while driving by Higgonbotham
Park, so I stopped to confirm it wasn't a Ross's. While scoping the
playa, I counted four hybrid geese. Some of the same hybrids may be
returning to Lubbock each year, but it seems like we get a lot of these.
These birds had mostly white heads, with varying degrees of black on
the necks. The bodies look like Canadas, and the tails have the dark
band, which either color phase of Ross's and Snow Geese do not. A few
of the larger hybrids I've seen in town in previous years have grin
patches and are clearly Snow x Canada Goose hybrids, which are fairly
well documented in other parts of the country. Most of our hybrids
don't show considerable grin patches and bill color varies from very
dark gray to pink. Based on what some experts have suggested, those
hybrids that are larger than the surrounding Cackling Geese are likely
hybrids with Lesser Canadas (parvipes) and those that are the same size
are likely hybrids with Cackling. When there's no grin patch, some
suggest that Ross's must be a parent. Without a more rigorous study,
this is really just guesswork based on morphology.
I haven't always put the effort into getting good photos of these
birds, but here are a handful of photos I have taken of various hybrids
in the past few years:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/odephoto/sets/72157639603202613/
I have changed my mind on several birds I've photographed in the
region, so please ignore the titles. I just wanted to share the
variation in hybrid geese we see here. Similar hybrids have been
reported from Clovis, the panhandle, and Colorado, but I expect we have
something special here in Lubbock. Go check them out!
Cheers,
Steve Collins
Lubbock, TX
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- » [texbirds] Hybrid Geese at Higgonbotham Park, Lubbock 1/9/2014 - Steve Collins
