ML640185613

Observation details

Still pondering this bird. Struck me as largish and bulky-necked in the water, but short-billed and plain-faced, with dull lore and rather pointed (but colorful) gular pouch with quite well-defined (but broad) white border below. Tail length was difficult to assess, most of it in the water most of the time; the one glimpse I had of the full tail was at an awkward angle. Mantle feathers and uppermost scapulars were pointed; I'm suspicious of that as a field mark, though. None of my photos was particularly good; second image attached here is just a crop of the first. These two species are usually not much of an identification challenge, but in those cases where they are, they're devilish. Happy to defer to those with greater confidence about this individual.