smittyone@cox.net Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 These two ducks always give me trouble. Seen at Loess Bluffs NWR in NW Missouri in April last year. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 Looks like a Lesser 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birding Boy Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 Agreed. Nice shot! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiscalus quiscula Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 Lessers are usually seen inland, and greater usually on saltwater. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 None of the primaries have obvious white in the pale wing stripe, hence Lesser, as depicted in field guides. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, Quiscalus quiscula said: Lessers are usually seen inland, and greater usually on saltwater. Greaters can often be seen on large bodies of water far inland during migration and winter. EDIT- oh, and Lessers like saltwater just as much as Greaters do. Edited July 7, 2021 by Seanbirds 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiscalus quiscula Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 18 hours ago, Seanbirds said: Greaters can often be seen on large bodies of water far inland during migration and winter. EDIT- oh, and Lessers like saltwater just as much as Greaters do. Huh, okay. My field guide is pretty outdated, fortunately I just got another field guide from the library. Habitat is indeed not very helpful, and so we should focus more on the peaked versus flatter head. Only Lesser is expected in my area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 8 minutes ago, Quiscalus quiscula said: Habitat is indeed not very helpful, and so we should focus more on the peaked versus flatter head. Habitat can be a useful hint, but it should never be the sole basis of an ID. Your earlier statement regarding habitat was not incorrect, per se, just perhaps a bit of an over generalization. Regarding head shape, that is not a very reliable feature on flying birds, however the wing pattern is diagnostic. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 5 hours ago, AlexHenry said: Your earlier statement regarding habitat was not incorrect, per se, just perhaps a bit of an over generalization. This. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 5 hours ago, AlexHenry said: Regarding head shape, that is not a very reliable feature on flying birds, however the wing pattern is diagnostic Oh, this too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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