Bird IDs needed

[WifeKidsandDog]

What duck is this?

And this one was just at the feeder:

[Tom Wilson]

Cheryl--first pic from left to right...

Pied Billed Grebe / Two Coots / Hen Redhead

second pic is a House sparrow

[knoppers]

yep, hen redhead. good photo's

[WifeKidsandDog]

The little redhead was funny to watch, she was constantly fighting with the mudhens. There was only a tiny patch of open water left on the lake.

Cheryl

[bigyooper]

Tom,

How can you tell it's a red head and not a canvas back?

I get those two confused all the time.

I thought the black bill was a C-back?

I would love the input.

Thanks

Nick

[Tom Wilson]

bigyooper,

The shape of the bill is a dead giveaway. The canvasback's bill runs longer out and also appears to run up the face giving it that odd looking bill. If you've got a bird ID book look them both up and you'll see what I mean--it's kind of hard to explain. Check out Cheryl's other post and she has a nice photo of a drake Can. It's not a hen, but you'll see the bill difference.

Tom W

[Mutty]

The canvasback will have a longer neck and a slightly longer sloping bill. They are normally a tab bit lighter in color too. Plus the C-back bill is black and the redhead has a blueish tint.

Hope that helps!

[Steve Foss]

My thought was that it tipped the scales a bit more toward redhead. I was given pause because it does have a deceptively sloping bill. But redhead was my guess, eventually, and I know better than to question Tom when it comes to duck ID.

[Dotch]

All I had at my disposal intitially the other day at the office was a little booklet called "Ducks at a Distance" that the USFWS put out awhile back and luckily the closest match was hen redhead, given the shape of the head/bill and the color pattern on the head, breast and abdomen. Having never seen one before, I wasn't going to chime in but after Tom confirmed it, I had no doubt. Was good to look at online resources at the office and some books once I got home to make sure it's filed in the memory banks so I don't accidentally shoot one someday.

[WifeKidsandDog]

Quote:

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All I had at my disposal intitially the other day at the office was a little booklet called "Ducks at a Distance" that the USFWS put out awhile back and luckily the closest match was hen redhead, given the shape of the head/bill and the color pattern on the head, breast and abdomen. Having never seen one before, I wasn't going to chime in but after Tom confirmed it, I had no doubt. Was good to look at online resources at the office and some books once I got home to make sure it's filed in the memory banks so I don't accidentally shoot one someday.

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Dotch, Tom and everyone,

I appreciate the time and effort you put into ID-ing and verifying the birds for me. When I find a new-to-me bird I do like to know what it is and then read a little bit about it "just so I know". It makes photographing more fun.

So thank you -- I appreciate it.

Cheryl