Subject: [Tweeters] Duck identification assistance?
Date: Jan 2 15:27:52 2006
From: Douglas Canning - dcanning at zhonka.net


Greetings Tweets -

Yesterday at Mud Bay (Thurston Co.) I saw a Mallard-sized & shaped duck I
cannot identify: grey head (patterning not noted at time, unfortunately);
fairly bright yellow bill with no apparent markings; mantle and scapulars
medium-dark brown on tan ground color, seemed fairly high contrast &
"bright"; speculum not seen; no remarkable behavior; with a small group of
male and female Mallards. Lighting moderately good under overcast skies;
good view at 20X.

Any opinions on what I saw? None of the illustrations or descriptions in
Sibley, National Geographic, or Madge & Burn quite fit. A male Mallard-
Mexican or Mallard-Black hybrid sort of seems like a fit except for the
geography.


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Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at zhonka.net
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