HI Tweeters:
I have been reading with interest the reports of "Eurasian"
Green-winged Teal from the region. I thought I let Tweeters people know
that there are 3 subspecies of Green-winged Teal listed below:

Subspecies English name Range
Anas crecca crecca "Common" Teal Eurasia
A.c.nimia "Aleutian" G.w. Teal Aleutian Is. AK
A.c.carolinensis "American" G.w. Teal North America

Both A.c.crecca and nimia were formerly considered a separate species the
"Common" Teal. The differences between crecca and nimia are related to
size. Nimia is slightly larger(especially in wing measurements) than
crecca, but otherwise resembles crecca in plumage. Although highly
unlikely to occur in our area (but Bellrose 1980 states: "The Aleutian
Teal(with the exception of a few stragglers to Britsh Columbia (source?))
is confined to the Aleutian Islands throughout the year.")it cannot be
100% ruled out. So I prefer the English name "Common Teal" when referring
to the birds of this subspecies group. Do any B.C. Birders/Ornithologists
know of any records of A.c.nimia from B.C.? Probably specimens only.
Sincerely

Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Is., WA
ipaulsen at linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us
"Rallidae all the way"