The lower Columbia Birders encountered a strange
Aythya-type duck among the Lesser Scaup on Warrenton
Sewage Ponds, Clatsop Co. OR. Most striking was the
large, sloping, tri-colored bill; black tipped, blue
mid-portion, dark gray-black upper portion.

It was a large-head duck with a steepish forehead and
a flat crown. The head was reddish brown in color with
a whitish cheek and malar area. The breast was brown.
Side panels were gray, mantle a bit lighter with a
white patch in the middle.

The only detractor was a bright pale iris (scaup colored).
Madge and Burn says that pochard can have a yellow-orange
eye, but I would expect that only in breeding adults.

Anyway, I think it's a pochard, probably of dubious
parantage. Can anybody comment on eye color?

--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html