Hello, everybody.
I saw an adult male *Mexican duck* earlier today, Monday, Apr. 24, at Hecla Lake, eastern Boulder County. Other birds, the past few days, Apr. 22-24, at the Waneka Lake–Greenlee Preserve–Thomas Open Space–Hecla Lake ecological complex have included: *wood ducks, hooded merganser,* nest-building *Swainson's hawks, solitary sandpiper,* nesting *bushtits, blue-gray gnatcatcher, red-breasted nuthatch, Audubon's* and *myrtle warblers* and hybrids, *Gambel's white-crowned sparrows* on the move, a meadowlark singing rather like an eastern meadowlark (but I didn't see it), and *great-tailed grackle.* Pix of the Mexican duck: <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n71Xek_-neU/WP62Lol9-dI/AAAAAAAAWIw/MIoKnRjwidAwM4B9-vYO6HAG-wJ4lGhGgCLcB/s1600/MEDU%2B01.png> Note the "female Mallard" plumage overall, but with a "male Mallard" bill. The rectrices (flight feathers of the tail) are relatively dark, and there is no evidence of curled tail feathers. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kKkm8_l0OOQ/WP62Qe7zoCI/AAAAAAAAWI0/70BJHs0TgyEwTjHbgiAMP-Tr5OzhUI3BQCLcB/s1600/MEDU%2B02.png> Don't laugh. This is a great angle for ruling out Mallard characters. A male Mallard in this pose would show sharply contrasting black and white on the tail. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tQCag_vD4N4/WP62VM9GWzI/AAAAAAAAWI4/YQIk3MxntWwKK2Qm3tX_rqnvICOpUUSJgCLcB/s1600/MEDU%2B03.png> Nothing beats seeing the birds together. On the female Mallard (front), note that the white rectrices contrast well with the rest of the body; the effect is more muted on the male Mexican Duck (rear). <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5UvaVG-5YiA/WP62mXllncI/AAAAAAAAWJA/CXD8Hm-F66Ah68vj73M20UKExJrUliapwCLcB/s1600/MEDU%2B04.png> The whole gang. Mexican Duck at front right; female Mallard, front left; male Mallards, rear, butts sticking up. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QMjipfkmdHQ/WP62sCg7X_I/AAAAAAAAWJE/uncuRAXowNcANOfocc4cgXSDCSUIqbTgQCLcB/s1600/MEDU%2B05.png> To sum up: "Female Mallard" plumage, but "male Mallard" bill; rectrices (tail feathers) contrasting weakly with rest of body; and no curled tail feathers. Ted Floyd Lafayette, Boulder County -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/e983a9f3-4b55-4680-b959-a0486dfd8463%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
