Hasties Swamp Pochards and Occam's Razor

[Carl Clifford <>]

I have been following this thread and it might be time to apply Occam's Razor. 
To begin: 
1. The most southerly records of RCPs are of vagrants in Thailand (IUCN Red 
Book)
2. It is a long flap for a duck from Thailand, let alone the normal southern 
most range in SE India.
3. The odds of a single bird arriving in NE Australia, based on the above are 
very, very slim.
4. The odds of a pair arriving in NE Australia are verging on astronomical.
5. Red Crested Pochards are found in water fowl collections in Australia.

Based on the above, I think that we would have to regard the Pochards at 
Hasties Swamp as escapees or releases, not vagrants. It would be interesting to 
see if these birds have leg bands. 

Carl Clifford
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