Hi Tweets,

Out early this AM with Scott Hall and family to Stanley Park in downtown
Vancouver BC to look for the v-nigra race Def Alt male Common Eider
Somateria mollissima, but no joy on that species (when the kayakers kick it
out of the park's littoral, just *where* does it go?); however, a couple of
consolation prizes: the Basic 1 YELLOW-BILLED LOON Gavia admasii was in the
Inner Harbor just off the Stanley Park Seawall on the E side of the park, at
Brockton Point at the NE corner of the park--that's the point with the
lighthouse. There's paid parking there, a Canadian buck (~US$0.68) gets 2
hrs of parking anywhere in the park. If you leave your car they will
*tow*--not ticket--your car if you don't show a ticket on the dash.

Going on bill size--fairly short; bill shape--fairly deeply-based; and
coloration--distribution of pale yellow is on the distal half, basal half
colder and greyer, dark grey feathering almost to mid-point of culmen;
looked like the same bird as was on the W side of the park last weekend.
Don't look too hard for a darker auricular spot or crescent: ain't much
there but a very small spot. Not a particularly big-looking bird (some YBLO
are real horses), but overall fairly pale: at distance, first impression was
of a really husky Basic Red-throated Loon G. stellata, even to the
typically-uptilted bill.

Besides being overall paler and browner than Juv/Basic Common Loon G. immer,
Juv/Basic adamsii seem to have a mark that doesn't seem to be in any of the
guides is a dark grey-brown triangular smudge (actually a close look will
show it it be made up of fine coalescent grey-brown streaking) where
side-neck and side-breast meet (shoulder? collar? base of neck? lower
side-neck? bird plumage-maps usually omit this area for some reason, leaving
it as an orphaned, topographical no-man's-land). Other than being an
extension of the wing-coloration, this smudge doesn't seem to be connected
to any other feature.

Then, over to Lost Lagoon to look for the Basic 1 HARRIS'S SPARROW
Zonotrichia querula. It finally popped out to feed on the path just beside
the *wooden* bridge. BTW, its usual haunt is not under the bridge as
reported but *beside* it, usually beneath and about 1.5-2 meters to the
right of the feeders on the E side of the Stone Bridge. A ton of Dark-eyed
Juncos Junco hyemalis, Song Sparrows Melospiza melodia, Red-winged
Blackbirds Agelaius phoenicius and three Sooty' (fuliginosa)-type Fox
Sparrows Paserella iliaca. And a very odd male duck, about which more below.
The Harris's flew up to a alder branch above the trail and gave several
partial songs, first time I've ever heard one.

Well, while Scott and family were having a great time checking out the Wood
Ducks Aix sponsa at the Stone Bridge, I thought I'd save 'em time (they were
going to catch a ferry to see the XHummer) by walking over to the other end
of the Lagoon to scout for the female TUFTED DUCK Aythya fuligula that's
been hanging around the E end of the Laoon in the 'Scaup Bay' section. Never
got to see it: went about 30 meters and found a Def Alt *male* Tufted, with
a nice long dependant tuft--no hybrid, this--at the small wooden platform at
the mouth of the channel leading to the Stone Bridge. Quite tame, it fed
from the hand. Likely an early northbound migrant (or *is* it early? *so*
much we don't know!)

In the flock of 'Dabbler' (genus Anas) ducks at the Stone Bridge we found a
hybrid drake whose parentage was either AMERICAN WIGEON (AMWI) A. americana
X NORTHERN PINTAIL (NOPI) A. acuta or MALLARD (MALL) A. platyrhynchos. The
bird--mostly wigeon-sized and proportioned--combined features of all three
species.

Description:

Head and neck: small bill--as AMWI--pink-flesh with dark nail; head and neck
as as male AMWI except no white or buff-white crown stripe; lores and
forecrown finely streaked grey-on-white as on the lower part of conventional
male AMWI face, and the iridescent dark green eye-patch continued above to
mid-crown, back to the nape and downward, ending almost at the base of the
rear-neck, as MALL. Most of the rear- and side-neck iridescent dark green,
at times tinged slightly bronze-green.

Chest: frontal shield was rich reddish-brown as MALL, speckled lightly with
dark grey, somewhat darker than conventional AMWI and slightly paler than
male MALL.

Back and sides: sides grey finely vermiculated darker grey; outermost row of
scapulars same, inner rows centered dark grey broadly fringed grey-brown;
outer tertial black fringed white, inner tertials black or dark grey fringed
paler grey or grey-brown.

Tail: bird had the typical black bum as MALL *narrowly* outlined in white on
rear flank with the leading edge of the white merging with side color once
again as MALL, unlike wide crisp white outline of either AMWI or NOPI; outer
rectrices white, two long lanceolate (as NOPI) central rectrices projecting
about 3-4 cm beyond tail.

Wing: didn't see the rest of the wing well but clearly saw broad iridescent
green speculum thinly bordered white on trailing edge as NOPI; no large
white covert panel as AMWI.

Was unhesitating in joining in feeding melees and typically would be in the
middle of them, as MALL and winter-resident AMWI, unlike NOPI (on the Lagoon
as rare to quite uncommon migrant).

Awful hard to conceive of a three-way hybrid, but what would account for
Mallard features in what I'm pretty sure is an American Wigeon X Northern
Pintail cross? Any ideas?

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)