Please send in your good wildlife photos. Thanks!
Today we have—glory be—DUCK PHOTOS! They come from William Savage, whose notes and IDs are indented.
Here are some items in response to your call for more pictures. All are of ducks! [JAC: Well, there’s a grebe at the end.]
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) male, showing off its iridescence in the sun.
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), male and female.
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca). The American Teal has a vertical, yellowish stripe just in front of its wings. Another male.
Northern Shoveler male (Spatula clypeata). Look at the way the feathers on his head almost glow.
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) male. See the blue bill. This is one of the stiff-tailed ducks,
White-faced Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata). This bird has an odd distribution, covering sub-Saharan Africa and South America. These were photographed in Hawaii!
Finally, as lagniappe, not a duck but a Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus).
I see some of these birds frequently – at a distance, but it’s really nice to see them close up in good light! The iridescence, as in the bufflehead, only shows well when viewed at the right angle.
Lovely ducks! Thank you.
I am, however, somewhat distressed by the Least Grebe. It may be accurate (and I know ‘Little’ was taken), but it is a charming bird. Wouldn’t ‘Littlest’ have been kinder?
Further research left me even more upset: ‘The Latin genus name for “grebe” means “feet at the buttocks”’. Nominatively speaking, this fine (albeit puny) fellow has had little luck.
Names can attract negative responses for all the wrong reasons sometimes, but I tend to agree with you that a better term than Least could have been sought. For many years Little Penguins were named Fairy Penguins in Australia, until some ridiculous people (in my humble opinion) thought it a homophobic slight. I don’t jest at all; very true! I still call these delightful birds Fairy Penguins though.
I don’t think that’s a Least Grebe. Note the bill shape and eye colour at the link provided. It looks like a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) in non-breeding plumage to me.
William Savage, your wildlife photos are outstanding! Many thanks.
Savage music to soothe my breast, and my eyes. These photos take advantage of some awesome optics in water.
They are indeed bootiful ducks…