In reply to Rachel Lawson.

>1) Canada Geese. This flock of 13 birds included several that looked
>smallish and short-necked to me, but not small enough or dark enough to be
>Cackling (minimus). One of them had a white border between the black of the
>neck and the gray-brown of the breast. Might these geese be Lessers
>(parvipes), or another intermediate-sized race? Is there a good way to tell?

Rachel, the geese could well have been Lesser Canada Geese (B. c.
parvipes). They are 20% smaller than the introduced resident Great Basin
(B. c. moffitti). Lessers are common migrants on the coast and interior,
and I know they winter in small numbers, although I'm not sure how many. I
was thrilled to see several flocks go over along the coast of Whidbey
Island last spring (there really is a lot of difference between a honking
goose overflight and a grazing goose overload). The Dusky (B. c.
occidentalis, includes fulva) is the same size but very dark, and pretty
much restricted to the coast or near-coast. Then there's the very small
Cackling (minima) and Aleutian (leucopareia--rare) subspecies. I see
enough variation in goose flocks that it makes me wonder if some
individuals are intermediate between some of these subspecies. I don't
think you can place every individual.

>2) Mallard-type domestic ducks. These birds were dark iridescent green
>from head to tail. I have seen lots of domestic ducks, and have never been
>particularly taken with them, but these were lovely! Does anyone know what
>variety/breed these are, and where they come from?

I'm sure these must be Mallards, as they are the right shape and have
yellow bills and a nice "duck tail." I saw some in the same place, and
there are also several at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park in Vancouver that you
can see at close range (any Vancouver tweeter know anything more about
them?). When I showed a slide of one to a bird class the other night,
everyone gasped, so I take it most people haven't seen these birds. I
don't think I ever saw them before last winter. Some waterfowl breeder has
come up with a pretty neat bird; they *are* spectacular. Maybe Chuck
Pilling would know something about it. I haven't seen any female similarly
colored, and, in fact, I don't think I even saw any females associating
with the ones I've seen. It would be interesting to check that out with
the Everett birds.

By the way, those ponds sometimes have American Black Ducks on them.

Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416