ML645831567

Behaketaren xehetasunak

*Great find by Aidan Perkins. Easily overlooked by less scrutinizing birders such as yours truly, as this bird closely resembles its American counterpart, close side-by-side comparison showed that this individual's warm brownish head (almost concolor with its rufous flanks) contrasted noticeably with the much cooler gray heads of nearby AMWI. Though I didn't notice much of a grayish wash to the back, the rump area struck me as much grayer than the tanner rumps of its female congeners. This particular individual also stood out thanks to the white wing edging which formed a prominent streak, almost like a narrower version of what you'd see on a Gadwall, though I imagine that's not diagnostic for the species as a whole.