ML129520291

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

We spotted this bird as soon as we reached the pond at the north end of the Hazard Unit, where it had been found by Brian Sullivan on 27 April. Over time, the duck moved both north and then south across the western half of the pond, but it always remained on the far side from us. It also raised up to flap its wings regularly, but I only once saw it attempt to fly, when it pattered across the water a short distance before alighting, this suggesting that it may not have been capable of strong flight. This was a medium-sized duck that was clearly larger than the Ruddy Ducks and female Bufflehead on the pond, but not by all that much. It did have a somewhat different body shape that combined a relatively small, blunt-tipped bill with a medium-sized head, a short and conspicuously stocky neck, and a plump, full-chested body. The bill was about twice as long as it was deep at the base, and it tapered from a base that did not appear all that deep for a duck to a blunt tip along a culmen that was relatively straight. Accentuating the small size of the bill was a conspicuous forehead that was relatively steep as it extended from the base of the bill up to a rounded junction with the crown, beyond which the crown had a gently rounded shape back to the nape, which was again more strongly curved. The neck was short and inconspicuous, and the body was quite plump, but of unremarkable size. I failed to notice either the primary projection or the placement of the wingtips relative to the tail, but when this bird raised up and flapped its wings, it revealed them to be complete yet worn and relatively rounded. The tail was so short as to be quite inconspicuous. This was a generally pale duck with the face and the sides and back of the neck entirely white. Contrasting with the white of the face was the dusky-brown that extended from the base of the upper mandible up the forehead and across the crown to its rear terminus. The dark color on the forehead was quite narrow, but that on the crown was broader, and throughout it had an uneven appearance that likely resulted from wear and bleaching. Most conspicuous on this bird was a rounded spot of dull black on either cheek just below and behind the eye. This spot and the dark crown demarcated the wedge-shaped region of white that extended across the face. I noted that the throat and foreneck were white, and that this white extended between the eye and both the crown and cheek spot. The white also circled under the black spot on the cheek to demarcate it sharply throughout its extent. Less conspicuous was a warm-brown wash across the breast and apparently the lower neck. I had a hard time discerning any pattern on the upperparts, but in a more general sense, they were a warm, medium-brown with a mottled appearance that likely reflected wear and bleaching on the feathers. Moreover, when this bird flapped its wings, it appeared that they were relatively uniformly dark brown both above and below. Contrasting with the darker upperparts, the belly and flanks were quite whitish, though the flanks seemed to be washed weakly with brown. I never could see the color of the short tail. The bill was a dark, slate-gray to blackish, depending on the light, the eyes were dark, and what little I saw of the uppermost parts of the legs appeared to be blackish.

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