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Greater Scaup, or ??? (1 Viewer)

Fulmar

Well-known member
Yesterday (Feb.26) I saw this duck in the Eijsderbeemden near Maastricht in the Netherlands. Using the Mullarney et al guide I concluded that the best bet is Greater Scaup. But not being familiar with that species (I never saw one before), I also looked at the Greater Scaup x Tufted Duck hybrid in the Mullarney. As the bird was quite distant when I took my pictures I went back today to see if it was still there and if I could get closer pictures. It was indeed present but now on the opposite side of the water, so impossible to photograph. :C

Today it was with a small group of Tufted Ducks and Common Pochards, and there were no other Greater Scaups.

She has definitely no tuft (no hint of it even while bending over while preening), a lot of white on the face, and the light moon in the ear area, which is all good for Greater Scaup. However, she looks a bit dark to me, and also the apparently larger black tip of the beak and the white behind it hint at some Tufted Duck lineage?

What do you think?

Peter
 

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Difficult to be sure from such small pics, but the black on a Greater Scaup's nail does "bleed" a little onto the main part of the bill (i.e. it's not quite totally confined to the nail). I'm not sure that there's too much black on this bird. It looks like a pure Greater Scaup to me.

Jason
 
Peter,

Greater Scaup when in the company of Tufteds....usually
appear a much bulkier bird. The few I've seen always stood out because of this. I agree with the others, your photo's show a female Greater Scaup.
Nice one!

Dave.
 
Hi all,
While it does look like Greater Scaup,and I think it is one,what's going on with the pale band behind the black tip?I think that this is due to the bird being a 1st-w female(?):the bill is quite dark otherwise,and this 'band' seems to be adult-type bill colour coming through?
If it is a 1st-w(and it looks like one,what with that darkish iris,paucity of 'floury' upperparts feathers etc),then that would also explain the perceived greater amount of black on the bill tip,though this is more extensive on females than males anyway.
Harry H
 
It does look (almost) spot on for a Greater Scaup, but that bill pattern does not seem ideal for the species. I remember seeing a similar bird in Cornwall some years ago.
 
Difficult to see on the pics, but the bill pattern seems also good for a female hybrid Tufted Duck x Common Pochard. The lighter band is going backwards to the side of the bill much more angled than I would expect in a greater Scaup. Also it is strongly pronounced.
Also the back seems indeed quite dark, but again difficult to say if too dark. Another difficulty is that Hybrids Pochard x Tufted can show a lighter moon in the ear area.


Here a female hybrid Pochard x probablyTufted duck


http://www.birding.ch/hybridsandstuff/ungtafel.html


These hybrids can have odd combinations of features. For example, I saw a hybrid one and a half year ago, which had exactly the bill shape and coloration like the bird in question;and a lighter half moon in the ear area, as well as a dirty white patch at the bill base. However, it was about tufty size; with an intermediate body and head shape (perhaps slightly closer to Pochard).

However I am not sure on the bird in this thread.
 
Additionally some other females from the web and a male hybrid showing a scauplike headshape
 

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I'm a beginner, but I have lot's of (greater) Scaup here, so I'll take a guss, female (greater) Scaup !, I would bet a £10 !

//Ben
 
Which band(on the first post pics) ???

So Tufted whit ENORMOUS white around bill then ? or hybride ?

//Ben
 
a point of consideration is that Maastricht hardly gets any Scaups during the year (less than 10 in five years?) and certainly not in August and September (none in a period of five years.
If certain, its a very good bird!

I saw it was picked out of Feb. I am done.
 
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