2 duck id's

[neepgrin]

Good day, Having hunted thru Whatbird, I am still confused as to these 2 ducks, (the mallards I know.lol) The little brown headed fellows (maybe very young golden eyes?) and there is 1 paler duck with a head like a northern pintail, but no tail. Any help would be appreciated.






Thanks Linda

[Deleted]

Hi, Linda.

First the bottom picture (with no Mallards)
Top - Gadwall male
Left and foreground - Lesser Scaup females
Centre - Bufflehead female

Top picture (with Mallards)
Left - Lesser Scaup female
Right - doesn't look quite right for any of the familiar duck species. Maybe Gadwall with strange effects of lighting?? Or maybe a barnyard duck of some genetic mixture??

Stan Olson
Abbotsford

[neepgrin]

thanks for the help Stan. The Gadwall male from the
"no mallard pic" is the exact same duck in the other shot. I tried to get a few of it, as i was uncertain of it's heritage. Could it be a Gadwall hybrid? Maybe with a Northern pintail to explain the white neck markings? I have uploaded a few more in an effort to help you. and me. lol





Thanks again. I appreciate all you assistance as i continue to learn. The Lesser Scaups are a first for me as would be the Gadwall, if thats what we decide it is.

[neepgrin]

Sorry stan, i am in error. You are quite right there are 2 gadwall looking birds. I have enclose photo with both in one shot. And you are right about the bad lighting too. lol

Thanks,

Linda

[neepgrin]

here is the pic. Darn i forgot it in the last post.

[Deleted]

Hi, Linda.

Well, I'm not sure I have any further answers.

Bright sunlight isn't necessarily bad, but it increases the contrasts and magnifies small differences, as in the photo with the two Mallards. This effect is also seen in the first photo in your second posting (Reply #2), which looks to me to show a normal Gadwall male with the markings accentuated by the bright light. By the way, it also has a Hooded Merganser female in the lower right. The third bird in this photo showing the effects of harsh lighting is a tantalizing puzzle.

So, yes, harsh lighting might be part of what makes the one Gadwall show unusual markings.

But the abnormally light markings on the neck and breast of the unusual Gadwall in the second photo in Reply #2 don't look to me to be only effects of harsh lighting, since the lighting in that photo isn't harsh. It might well be a hybrid, but I have no familiarity with what that would look like. Ducks (and other birds) can occasionally show abnormal plumage markings without hybridization, too.

However, I'm pretty sure the Gadwall in the back of the "no Mallard" photo is a good Gadwall.

I can't pick out enough details in the photo in Reply #4 to take it any further, except to say that there appears to be a Hooded Merganser male there too (second from right).

But if there are two different Gadwall type birds in the photos, then one looks like a normal one and the other seems to have some strange characteristics that do resemble the light neck stripe and perhaps light breast colour of Northern Pintail.

Someone with more knowledge of hybrids than I might chime in with more information.

Stan

[neepgrin]

Thanks so much for your time and efforts Stan. We are in agreement, 1 gadwall and 1 "something like a gadwall" . Good enuf for my records. I'm happy with 2 new ducks (gadwall and lesser scaup) for my lists. And 1 mystery. lol

Thanks you so much