Hi Tweets,

Gail Spitler asks:

>Do Ring-necked Ducks in basic plummage have a white ring on their bill ?

plummage (n & v.t., etym. uncertain, perhaps from the rural French term
still used in the Clouseaux region of France, 'le ploem'--a fruit):
1. the proportion of a year's crop-loss suffered by orchardists to
light-fingered ducks (known in economic theory as the 'Horner Constant').
2. the action of ducks raiding an orchard, as in 'A flock of Ring-neckeds
came in and darn near plummaged the whole orchard--sure wish they'd leave
the pits behind *before* they start to fly back out.' '-)

Seriously, some Basic ('eclipse')-plumaged adults should be showing some of
their 'conventional' Alternate plumage beginning to come in about now, as
well. And some juvs may be advanced enough to see a white subterminal ring
by now.

Michael Price The Sleep of Reason Gives Birth to Monsters
Vancouver BC Canada -Goya
mprice at mindlink.net