As previously posted by Tony Hertzel, the Eurasian Wigeon at Hyland Lake = in Bloomington is not "pure-blooded," but instead appears to have both = Eurasian Wigeon and American Wigeon genes.
The above assertion is based primarily on three characteristics, which I = noted while I was Hyland Lake between 4:00 and 5:00 this afternoon. (1) On the head, although a broad postocular area is reddish brown, the = cheeks - the region below the postocular area - and the lores are much = duller, a pale brown-gray, with fine dark flecking. Thus, the face is = patterned similarly to that of a male American Wigeon, but with the = American's shiny green postocular stripe being replaced with red-brown, = and with the rest of the face having a weak brown tinge that the = American's face lacks. (In a "pure" Eurasian, the head, forehead = excepted, should be Redhead red.) (2) On the body, brown-pink color is not restricted to the breast, but = mixes extensively with the gray of the flanks, especially near the = waterline. (In a Eurasian, the flanks should be plain gray, without any = pinkish or brownish.) (3) As for the bill, there is a narrow black line along the sides of the = bill where the bill joins the head, with the black "petering out" = dorsally so that there is no black at the base of the culmen. This = condition is intermediate between an American Wigeon (which has a narrow = black line at the bill-base that runs continuously from one side of the = bill across the culmen to the other side of the bill) and a Eurasian = (which has no black line at the bill-base). Shucks! I thought that a trip to Hyland Lake might provide a sort of = consolation prize for my inability to chase the Black Vulture on Sunday = morning, but I guess that consolation will have to wait for another day. Phil Chu Department of Biology St. John's University Collegeville, MN 56321