One rewarding aspect of birding is looking into a flock of birds that initially appears to be comprised of individuals from the same species and discerning a bird of a completely different breed. During Phoenix' winter months I'm occasionally treated to spotting a lone northern shoveler or a wood duck in a group of mallards. But these individuals contrast vividly with their more common water bird cousins, so identification is not especially difficult.
I recently spotted for the second time ever a male lesser scaup among several male ring-necked ducks on one of Papago Park's lakes. These two species look quite similar so identifying the scaup was exciting for an avid birder like me. Researching some details on these birds, I've discovered that the two breeds are in fact close cousins.
They are both members of the large family of birds that includes geese and swans, in addition to all ducks like the before-mentioned shovelers, mallards and wood ducks. But the ring-necked duck and the lesser scaup fall into their own separate lower category, the genus aythya, which comprises only twelve specific species of diving ducks. While not all these separate breeds look as close in appearance as the two Papago Park water birds I just saw, I'm sure they would forgive any mistaken identification.
I recently spotted for the second time ever a male lesser scaup among several male ring-necked ducks on one of Papago Park's lakes. These two species look quite similar so identifying the scaup was exciting for an avid birder like me. Researching some details on these birds, I've discovered that the two breeds are in fact close cousins.
They are both members of the large family of birds that includes geese and swans, in addition to all ducks like the before-mentioned shovelers, mallards and wood ducks. But the ring-necked duck and the lesser scaup fall into their own separate lower category, the genus aythya, which comprises only twelve specific species of diving ducks. While not all these separate breeds look as close in appearance as the two Papago Park water birds I just saw, I'm sure they would forgive any mistaken identification.
 |
| Lesser scaup, Papago Park, Phoenix. |
 |
| Lesser scaup, Papago Park, Phoenix. |
 |
| Lesser scaup, above, and ring-necked duck, below, both in the genus aythya, at Papago Park, Phoenix. |
 |
| Canvasback, also in the genus aythya, at Granada Park, Phoenix, last month. |
 |
| Redhead, also in the genus aythya, at Papago Park, Phoenix, 2016. |
Comments
Post a Comment