| Thanks. I will remember to look for the position of the eye relative to the crown as that does seem to stand out. According to Sibley, the green vs. purple gloss is not a useful field mark as it varies so much depending on light and viewing angle. I will pay more attention to the nail on the bill next time I'm out.
I took the photo on Sunday - this time of year.
- Barry - Greetings Barry,
Very nice pic of a male Lesser Scaup (I believe). One of my friends relayed to me a field mark that helps - and shows well in your picture. The large, rounded head of Greater Scaup allows the eye to be closer to the crown (higher), and centered. Your bird shows the opposite, including a point (raised hindcrown) not seen in GrSc. Also, the dark nail of most Greater Scaup is about 2 millimeters wider (each side), thus would show much more than in your lateral view. I'm not sure whether the Greater Scaup iridescent green would show in your shot, but here is probably the more typical (esp. this time of year - your photo date?) purple head of a Lesser Scaup. Greater Scaup can be purple (not usually this close to the alternate colors season) , but Lesser Scaup don't get green. A great place to see wild scaup, close-up, is behind the Rotary Nature Center at Lake Merritt, Oakland; esp. at feeding time, 3:30 PM daily.
Good luck with your I.D.'ing,
Phil Gordon, Instructor
Natural History of Calif. Birds
Acalanes Adult School, Walnut Creek
Hayward, ALA Co.
In a message dated 2/21/2006 9:39:20 AM Pacific Standard Time, [[email protected]] writes:
I know I should have this figured out by now, but I still have a lot
of trouble with Lesser vs. Greater Scaup. For instance, I took this
picture at the Sunnyvale Water Treatment Plant Sunday:
http://www.pbase.com/wilmot/image/56292582
I want to call it a Lesser Scaup, but the text and paintings in
Sibley leave me confused. Which part of the head is the "peak" and
can you tell how far forward it is in this picture (I always thought
the peak was that tufty thing above and behind the eye, but Sibley
says that the peak is farther forward on a Greater, so that makes no
sense)? Is this bill longer and broader (Greater) or smaller and
straighter (Lesser...it looks straighter to me)? Is the barring on
the back heavier and coarser, or not? The tip of the bill doesn't
have much black, but Sibley says there's a lot of overlap there. I
know Lesser Scaup are more common here, and some of the other Scaup I
saw (flying, for instance) were almost certainly Lesser, but just
from this image I cannot tell which Scaup I have photographed.
If there's anything obvious I should be checking for, I'd appreciate
the pointers. If it's all subtleties, any tips on additional things
to look for would also be appreciated.
- Barry -
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