songbilliam Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I photographed this pair of Scaups today, March 8, in Forest Park, St. Louis, MO. They were in a fairly small freshwater lake in an urban park, so my first guess was Lesser. Looking at the photos closely, I noticed how wide the heads were in profile and that the male's black bill tip appears to be fairly wide, which would suggest Greater. What do YOU think? 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millipede Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 my impression of these birds is lesser BUT... I'm the wrong person to ask on them. When I see scaup ID requests there's a small part of me that cringes... BUT, I look at them and sometimes comment because I'm hoping that this will help me learn them better. I'm not seeing as wide a head profile or "nail" as I might look for on a greater... but I'm anxious to see what the more experienced folks say. Maybe I'll get the hang of these birds... then again, I've seen even the more experienced with them be a bit uncertain at times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 (edited) Why, yes; those ARE Greater or Lesser Scaup. Sorry, it's Friday. Edited March 8, 2019 by Charlie Spencer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvoryBillHope Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Head profile looks good for Lesser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcarscadden Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 i agree ..head profile as mentioned by IvoryBillHope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANULFO MAYORAL Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 lesser head shape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songbilliam Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 Thanks everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.