I think it has already been sorted out. The teal is most definitely not a = hybrid. It doesn't show any characteristics of a hybrid BW/Cinnamon teal. = It is a full adult male cinnamon teal molting into basic plumage, with = some features still present of alternate plumage (head color, eye color). = I'm pretty sure both Drew Smith and Jim Mattson both confirmed on the list = that the bird was not a hybird, and i've seen it several times with Drew, = as well as when it was first found with John/Chris Hockema, Drew Smith and = Mark Ochs. I myself am pretty confident of the identification, though I = make no claims of being any sort of expert. I'll leave the expert work to = Drew and Jim.
Chris Fagyal Senior Software Engineer United Defense, L.P. Fridley, MN (763) 572-5320 [email protected] >>> "Thomas Margevicius" <[email protected]> 06/16/2003 12:17:07 PM >>> Greetings birders.=20 Karol Gresser and I refound the eclipse (molting?) plumage Cinnamon Teal = around 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon at 140th Marsh in Dakota County. We = scanned the far (north) shore of the pond for a half hour before we found = the bird. We located the bird only 3 minutes after another gentlemen = (didn't get his name) left after futilely searching himself. A scope is a = virtual necessity.=20 Compared to the Blue-winged Teals, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, and Coots = that frequent the pond, the bird is not hard to differentiate: it is = small, still has an entirely cinnamon-hued torso and the unmistakable = Shoveler-like bill. I'll let those more expert than I sort out whether = this bird is a hybrid. We also stopped briefly at the Empire power station on 210th Street in = Dakota County, just west of Co Rd 81. We found Dickcissels, Western = Meadowlarks, and the usuals, but no Mockingbird. Fr. Tom
