tags: Muscovy Duckling, Cairina moschata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Muscovy Duckling, Cairina moschata, photographed in Hermann Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 22 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The single eyeline is seen only in a small subgroup of the dabbling ducks; the mallards, black ducks and their close relatives. However, a close look at the thicker bill and the bright yellow down and pale, cream-colored back end will rule out mallard duckling, whose bill is shorter and lighter, and whose plumage has an overall greyer quality than what you see in this duckling.
It's a ducky!!!!!!!!!!!
But I can't even begin to guess which one.
i've got a ton of photos of mallard ducklings, of which this looks like a carbon copy ;)
A delicious Peking Duck!
[On a related topic]
They should be farming out this identification work to your blog! :-
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/science/25birds.html?_r=1&partner=rss…
(The photo reminded me of a period a few years ago where a family of ducklings would wait for me to lie down to eat my lunch in the gardens, rush over, jump on my chest and demand to be feed. The mother encouraged the ducklings to jump up on me the first few times. I did this most days until the local Japanese tour lot got the idea that I was some sort of tourist entertainment to point cameras at. Blurgh...)
A Muscovy? Really? Do they develop those red, bare-skin faces later, then?