Aythya... ferina? Alicante - Spain (1 Viewer)

[lunitis]

Hello.
I saw this bird yesterday in El Hondo - Alicante.
There are many Aythya ferina in that spot, but this one has a very white neck. What do you think?

Thanks.

 

[aeshna5]

Still looks like female A. ferina. Not sure if the white is an artefact or leucism?

 

[nartreb]

Not an artifact. Most of the white pixels are slightly "blown out", as often happens in bright sunlight, but there's a shadow under the bill, and the pixels in that shadow are definitely not overexposed, and still white.
Not a species I'm familiar with, but a minute's googling suggests that a white patch under the chin is normal -- but often not so obvious due to posture. This one might be a bit bigger than most, I'm not sure.

 

[aeshna5]

Not an artifact. Most of the white pixels are slightly "blown out", as often happens in bright sunlight, but there's a shadow under the bill, and the pixels in that shadow are definitely not overexposed, and still white.
Not a species I'm familiar with, but a minute's googling suggests that a white patch under the chin is normal -- but often not so obvious due to posture. This one might be a bit bigger than most, I'm not sure.

It's a bird I see virtually every week but never noticed such obvious white as this but as I said above certainly female A. ferina.