I ran by the Pellissippi State pond this morning to look for the Greater Scaup reported yesterday. I found the (a) bird, but I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with the ID and call this a Lesser Scaup (at least the bird that was there this morning). Some key points... - head peaks behind the eye with a slight tuft... not rounded with peak toward the front - nail on bill is very thin and neat... not broad and messy - flanks are dark grey... not bright white - head-on profile is rather thin - head gloss changed with angle, mostly appearing green but occassionally purplish Head gloss can point you in a direction for scaup ID but should not be used alone because, as in this case, the direction it points you can often be wrong. Dean Edwards Knoxville, TN On Tue, 17 Dec 2013, John Obarr wrote: > I stopped by Pellissippi Campus, Hardin Valley and saw the Greater > Scaup, that was listed there earlier today. Such a nice find, Thanks for > posting it. > =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clemson, SC __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________