Subject: weird duck - scoter?
Date: Oct 9 15:22:07 1999
From: Kas Dumroese - dumroese at uidaho.edu


Greetings all:

I birded Mann Lake near Lewiston, Nez Perce Co, ID this morning
and am a bit perplexed by a weird duck viewed there. Mann Lake
often has some domestic releases so this could be one as well. . .

The duck is a diver. It had a white spot near the base of the bill,
and a white spot behind the eye. The bird was dark overall. My first
impression was Surf Scoter, but the bird seemed long-necked,
more like a grebe. In flight, the bird was fairly uniform dark above,
contrasting slightly with grayish underwings. The belly seemed a
bit lighter. After relocating it on the other side of the lake, I noted it
was somewhat larger than an American Coot. The bill was dark
bluish black and large like a scoter, not grebe-like. At a closer
distance, the white spot behind the eye seemed somewhat
elongated ("tear-drop"), wider toward the eye. When not diving, the
top of the head and back of the neck were darker than the sides
and front of the head/neck, but about the same color as the back.
Low on the neck was a darker band, concolor with the back of the
neck/top of the head. Also, the forehead seemed very straight, not
sloping like a Surf Scoter.

Any thoughts?

Kas Dumroese, landlubber
Moscow, ID
dumroese at uidaho.edu