I, too, have photos of BAGOs showing greenish heads, and I always attributed this to the angle of light, refraction, etc. I was watching a trio of Common Goldeneyes in the bright sunshine up at Blaine today and I saw brilliant greens turned into deep purple and even black as the birds turned.

And as Barry alluded, watch an active Mallard next time you're out on a sunny day.....green to purple to blue!

Joe Meche
Bellingham




-----Original Message-----
From: Barry Ulman <ubarry at qwest.net>
To: Kelly McAllister <mcallisters4 at comcast.net>
Cc: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tue, Mar 6, 2012 9:14 pm
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Barrows Goldeneye with green head sheen


Sometimes the angle to the light may alter the head gloss. I have photographs of Barrow's Goldeneyes with greenish head gloss. Also, a Mallard's head can look blue if you see it at a certain angle to the light.


Barry Ulman
Bellingham, WA.





On Mar 6, 2012, at 7:29 PM, Kelly McAllister wrote:



I came upon this male goldeneye today, at Mud Bay in Thurston County, Washington. At first, from a distance, I thought it might have a round white spot at the base of the bill. But, the rest of it looked like a typical Barrow?s Goldeneye. They I noticed a green sheen on the head. All of the nearby male Barrow?s Goldeneyes had the typical purple sheen. On closer look, the one with the green head has a crescent-shaped loral spot, perhaps a bit reduced in size from what?s typical. You can see this bird here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29002564 at N08/6960686549/in/photostream

I really thought I might be looking at a Common Goldeneye-Barrow?s Goldeneye hybrid but, on closer examination, that might be a reach. Have others seen male Barrow?s Goldeneyes with green head sheen?

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington
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