[Mnbird] Greater or Lesser Scaup?

[Michael Hurben]

 Greater and Lesser Scaup: Beyond Crown Shape


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Greater and Lesser Scaup: Beyond Crown Shape

IN THE SCOPE Greater and Lesser Scaup: Beyond Crown Shape Tony Leukering Despite the fact that separation of Gre...
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    On Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 09:52:22 PM CDT, Steve Weston via Mnbird <mnbird at lists.mnbird.net> wrote:  
 
 some of the other field marks that you can look for besides head shape.The GRSC has a brighter white side, whereas the LESC has a grayer side. I have found this is a good, but subtle difference that is not always evident. But, when you can see the difference, they are very easy to separate.The GRSC has a broader head and bill and a more obvious black nail on the end of the bill. That is evident when you get a straight on shot.Yes, when you can see the color of the head, the male LESC is purple, but sometimes shows some green. And, the GRSC has a green head.
And, yes this is a Greater. You can see all three of these lesser known field marks.
Note: This is not an easy ID. Probably 20 years ago a friend and well respected birder ID'd 2 LESC and 1 GRSC (immature male) in February. The GRSC was quite unexpected. I reported the trio. Repeatedly some of the best known names in the area went down and reported 3 LESC's and disputed the GRSC ID. I went down several times to confirm my ID, which ran counter to the consensus that was forming. Luckily the birds hung around for more than a month and the Greater molted into breeding plumage and the ID became indisputable. The Sibley field guide is really good for separating the two scaup.  
Steve WestonOn Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN
sweston2g at gmail.com


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On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 9:13 PM Paul Lender via Mnbird <mnbird at lists.mnbird.net> wrote:

Hi Folks
Here are two shots of the same bird at Como Lake, St. Paul, at about 5:40pm tonight (1 April 2023) in bright sun.  All the other male scaup that I can see had purplish iridescence when you could see it at all.  The angle on the head isn't great -- sorry about that.  Without a good shot of the head in profile, is the green iridescence definitive for Greater?
Thanks in advance...-- Paul Lender, St. Paul MN
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Paul Lender
University of Minnesota Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery
2450 Riverside Ave. South, Suite R200
Minneapolis  MN  55454

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