RCB40

Not sure what went wrong, but I was able to submit and the reply now shows. Thanks for the feedback.

Just trying to learn here. Perhaps I should have included this photo. From the photo it doesn't look like it is just a case of wind ruffling the feathers. I'm not familia with immature RNDU, but my sense from the comments that this is an immature female, but the flank color seems like what Cornell's Birds of the World describe as "flanks pale silver gray to pale buffy brown" for juvenile plumage. What are the characteristics of formative plumage for female RNDU's. I'm assuming the the red eye color is only present in immatures, something I haven't seen referenced before. Thanks for the d

I submitted a question for an ID comment and got a number of helpful comments. However, I wanted to follow up so I entered a followup reply along with an additional photo. The followup never posted and the original post turned gray, although I can read all of the original replies. Any idea what happened and how do I, as original poster, followup with additional information?

The white flanks on this female Ring-necked Duck seems unusual to me. I would expect brown flanks on a female RNDU. Is this a common variation of this species?

The attached photo shows a Barrow's Goldeneye accompanied by a female. Paired with a Barrow's it suggests that the female is a Barrow's, but the bill color is typical of a Common Goldeneye female. Cornell's Birds of the World cites two references that female Barrow's may rarely only have yellow on distal third. So, is it more likely that this is a rare Barrow's with yellow on the tip of the bill or do female Common Goldeneyes pair with Barrow's? Are there any other marking on the female that would distinguish between female Barrow's and Common Goldeneyes. Thanks for any insights.

I photographed the attached photo of ablue morph Snow Goose along side a Cackling Goose at Waneka Lake Park in Lafayette, Colorado on November 20th. I was confused by the color of the bill, which isn't rosy pink, the color shown in field guides. I have just learned that this is probably a hybrid, possibly a Snow x Cackling Goose. Any suggestions of what features would Indicate what the hybrid is?