[texbirds] Scaup ID help
- From: Bruce Sherman <brucesherman@xxxxxxx>
- To: Texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:08:55 -0500
I got this pic from one of the boardwalks behind the South Padre Island
Convention Center yesterday: http://www.pbase.com/image/149178064My first
reaction from seeing the rounded head shape on this bird was that it was a
Greater Scaup. I have only seen Greater Scaup in TX a few times and they were
always in deeper water. This guy was in one of the shallow ponds between the
boardwalks. The bird was in with a small group of Redheads and appeared to be
almost identical in size to the Redheads. I have seen Lesser Scaup with
Redheads many times in the Rockport area and the Lesser Scaup always seemed to
be noticeably smaller than the Redheads. Sibley mentions that Redheads are 19"
long, Greater Scaup are 18"long, and Lesser Scaup are 16.5" long. Also, the
head shape on this bird looks more like the head shape of the Greater Scaup as
shown on my Sibley Birds iphone app. Sibley also mentions a difference in the
barring on the back of the bird, with the Lesser Scaup having heavier, coarser
barring. Comparing this bird to pics I have taken of the Lesser Scaup I believe
this bird has less heavy and less coarse barring than the Lesser Scaup. I would
be most grateful for any opinions. Bruce ShermanRockport, TX
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