Without wanting to jump on any band wagon, I also think that the bird seen on
Friday was definitely not a Baer's Pochard!!! Furthermore it seems apparent that
there is has been a process of Japanese whispers occurring with regards to
recent sightings of this bird!
For example in my posting on Friday I described the bird as a 'green-headed
Pochard-like bird'. Reading between the lines, perhaps a more appropriate
description would have been a 'green-headed white-eye (sic Hardhead) like bird'.
The bird also had a distinctive, somewhat unusual body shape, distinguishing it
from a 'normal' Hardhead. Some of the suggestions given in Mike Carter posting
may account for these unusual features.
As I'd done previously, I draw reference to Paul Taylor's comments on
birding-aus on the 8 Jul 2004. He states:
"the two [Hardhead and Baer's] may form a superspecies i.e. it's very
closely related and very similar. Playing Devil's Advocate and armed with
Occam's Razor :-), could this bird be just an aberrant Hardhead?"
Therefore a more obvious question still remains: whether the bird seen on Friday
(and at other times) is in fact the bird which is being claimed as the Baer's
Pochard (with no dis-respect to anyone), or whether there is in fact a seperate
bird!
To reiterate, let's keep our fingers crossed!
Tim
Mike Carter wrote:
> I'd like to endorse Chris Lester's comments posted earlier today, (except to
> correct the date of Fred's first sighting to 3 July not April!) and to add a
> few comments of my own.
>
> Based on the part description I've received, the bird seen on the evening of
> Friday 9 July was not a Baer's Pochard nor even a look alike. The breast
> colour was like that of a Hardhead, not 'bright chestnut' resembling a
> Chestnut Teal (or Australian Shelduck) as given in the original description,
> and a distinguishing feature of Baer's Pochard. This breast co
our, not
> just the green on the head, was one of the reasons behind my suggestion that
> the bird might be a hybrid Hardhead/Chestnut Teal. From photographs and
> descriptions, the bird on that morning was the same as that in the
> excellent, revealing photos taken by Peter Fuller on 13 July. Both had
> frayed wings.
>
> I now believe that the bird is damaged and this is what has created it's
> unusual appearance. Maybe it has been shot or hit an overhead wire in
> flight! Peter Fuller's photo of it flapping it's wings show not only worn
> primaries but apparently missing feathers on the inner wing. Feather loss
> seems too great to be entirely due to moult. Danny Rogers' thinks that the
> tertials are missing.
>
> As a green gloss is at times visible on the head of Hardhead, I now consider
> that all more recent sightings are of a strange, perhaps damaged, Hardhead.
>
> I still haven't seen any photos from the 7 July (available from three
> sources) but unfortunately, events since then are tainting the whole claim.
>
> Mike Carter
> 30 Canadian Bay Road
> Mt Eliza VIC 3930
> Ph: (03) 9787 7136
> Email:
>
> -----See Original Message -----
> From: <>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 11:29 PM
> Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] To be or not to be a Baer's Pochard
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