IKLland Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Thanks! Posting for my friend. Freshwater marsh the other day, Orange County, CA. https://ebird.org/checklist/S125800056 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Maybe CITE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 3 minutes ago, Avery said: Maybe CITE? I was thinking that but CITE has a pretty strong eyering, and I’ve never seen a CITE with orange on the bill like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiscalus quiscula Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Weird Spatula hybrid? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Fingers Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 2 minutes ago, Quiscalus quiscula said: Weird Spatula hybrid? I could see that. 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 <<checks location; sees 'CA'; discards 'female ABDU'; shrugs; moves on>> 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeylenz Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Why not a Female Mallard? Sure looks a lot like one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, Monkeylenz said: Why not a Female Mallard? Sure looks a lot like one. It does, and yet it doesn't somehow. I've been scratching my head over this for a while, and I have yet to find a good match, until today. The bill and the scapulars were throwing me off. But, I'm fairly certain this is a Gadwall. Mallard shows some scapulars with pale Buffy stripes down the center. Gadwall don't. This bird lacks them. The bill is slightly spatulate, compared to the relatively straight bill of Mallards. The bill color is certainly darker and messier than I would expect for a Gadwall, but it is within reason. The head seems pretty rounded, but Gadwalls can be sneaky... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 7 hours ago, Avery said: I'm fairly certain this is a Gadwall I was tempted but I'm still not convinced. The head (almost always more square) and colour (typically plainer and more grey) doesn't look right and no hint of white on the secondaries in any of the photos (although this doesn't always show) plus it has white on the tail. OTOH it does have a faint eye arc. I'm giving up on this one, it may be a Gadwall but I'm thinking another odd Mallard. Of course Mallard x Gadwall is a possibility but I'm not sure about female examples. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birds are cool Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 9 hours ago, Avery said: It does, and yet it doesn't somehow. I've been scratching my head over this for a while, and I have yet to find a good match, until today. The bill and the scapulars were throwing me off. But, I'm fairly certain this is a Gadwall. Mallard shows some scapulars with pale Buffy stripes down the center. Gadwall don't. This bird lacks them. The bill is slightly spatulate, compared to the relatively straight bill of Mallards. The bill color is certainly darker and messier than I would expect for a Gadwall, but it is within reason. The head seems pretty rounded, but Gadwalls can be sneaky... Agreed. The bird doesn't feel like a Mallard, but than again it looks like one. Gadwall was my original guess, and still is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birds are cool Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Just realized that in the comments it says smaller than Gadwall, slightly larger than nearby shovlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Fingers Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Birds are cool said: Just realized that in the comments it says smaller than Gadwall, slightly larger than nearby shovlers. Huh Edited January 12 by Snake Fingers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 4 hours ago, RobinHood said: I was tempted but I'm still not convinced. The head (almost always more square) and colour (typically plainer and more grey) doesn't look right and no hint of white on the secondaries in any of the photos (although this doesn't always show) plus it has white on the tail. OTOH it does have a faint eye arc. I'm giving up on this one, it may be a Gadwall but I'm thinking another odd Mallard. Of course Mallard x Gadwall is a possibility but I'm not sure about female examples. I looked at MALL x GADW female photos on eBird (there’s only one bird) and it was similar but not quite right. Here:https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=x00420&sex=female 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, Avery said: there’s only one bird Probably safe to assume they are under reported, especially in view of this thread, but considering the variability of hybrids......... Wondering if the white on the tail make female Gadwall dubious? I'm sticking with odd Mallard or quite possibly a hybrid (might be worth reporting this option). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 6 minutes ago, RobinHood said: Probably safe to assume they are under reported, especially in view of this thread, but considering the variability of hybrids......... Wondering if the white on the tail make female Gadwall dubious? I'm sticking with odd Mallard or quite possibly a hybrid (might be worth reporting this option). Oh yeah, I’m sure there’s way more. They would be quite tricky to pick out. Also, female Gadwalls can have really pale rectrices especially from this angle. Just looking at photos on Merlin I see several examples. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birds are cool Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Didn't think about until now. What about a Blue-winged Teal? It would be rare, but seems like a perfect match. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27799661 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27799661 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 3 minutes ago, Avery said: Oh yeah, I’m sure there’s way more. They would be quite tricky to pick out. Also, female Gadwalls can have really pale rectrices especially from this angle. Just looking at photos on Merlin I see several examples. At this point I will withdraw from the debate (should it be reported as a Gadwall?) and go back to my report for the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiscalus quiscula Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 minutes ago, Birds are cool said: Didn't think about until now. What about a Blue-winged Teal? It would be rare, but seems like a perfect match. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27799661 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27799661 I wouldn't exactly say perfect match. I've never seen a Blue-winged Teal with even a hint of orange on the bill, and it structurally seems wrong. At least not a pure BWTE, although it crossed my mind before. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 28 minutes ago, Birds are cool said: Didn't think about until now. What about a Blue-winged Teal? It would be rare, but seems like a perfect match. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27799661 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27799661 I don’t think so. The bird in question doesn’t have strong eye arcs like a BWTE, and I second @Quiscalus quiscula‘s comments. Also, just FYI, BWTE are not rare at the location of the bird in question at this time of year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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