hbvol50 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Today Nashville TN I'm thinking the males are Lesser and the female is Greater? Scaup for ID by hbvol50, on Flickr Second shot of female Scaup for ID by hbvol50, on Flickr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcoot Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I'd say yes. The males head's are peaked towards the rear, and the female's head is greatly rounded overall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdbrain22 Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Hard to be certain but I think the drake above the female in the pic could be a Greater as the head looks more rounded and the bill larger as well to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcarscadden Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 while I am far from and expert...I do not see the difference in bill size nor the larger black tip that may be found on the greater. so I would say both males are lesser. But it is of interest to me that they are both found together. Just got back from Central Florida and took lots of pics and now will simply say i have both greater and lesser in the pictures. A local guide called them bluebills but they are definitely scaup.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I'd say the females are greater and the top left male is a greater as well in the top photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 47 minutes ago, Melierax said: I'd say the females are greater and the top left male is a greater as well in the top photo. I'd have called that top left male a Lesser, with a tall head rather than long front to back, and no visible nail on the bill. But I'm not an expert. The female does look like a Greater to me, and actually helps me understand why people say Greaters have round heads. Usually I think they look flat-headed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 My 2 cents. The pair in front are Greater (to me the male has rounder head and wider bill). Following behind has to be a Lesser based on head profile. Or maybe.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Yeah... the Greater "rounded head" thing comes from comparing it to the Lesser. Lessers have a peak making a sharp change in head slope direction. Greaters don't, meaning there's a continuous change in direction around the head, giving them a "rounded" look. Imo I think the bill on the male in the top photo is better for Greater due to how large it appears. I agree the head looks a bit odd with the peaked forehead, but I see no hint of a peak near the back of the head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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