scaup

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: I hate scaup photos, since I'm typically lazy and don't pay much attention to scaup in the field. But anyway - : Lower - female Greater by combination of: : - rounded hind-crown, without any hint of a peak. Lessers seem to typically maintain at least a hint of a peak or squared-off angle to the hind-crown, even as their head shape flattens or compresses. : - pale yellow iris. Even mature female Lessers seem to average noticeably darker-eyed than is apparent here. : - dark on bill tip (nail) seems somewhat extensive for Lesser here, even though bill tip is partially cropped in the photo. : - proportionately sort of long and chunky body, overall jizz seems like Greater to me (whatever that's worth to anyone else). : Upper pair - Lessers based on combination of: : - squared-off hind-crowns : - block-headed look. Even with changes to head shape, my impression is that Greaters typically don't show quite such a blocky look to the head, while Lessers often do. : - minimal or no black on bill tips. : - somewhat short, thin bodies - jizz of Lessers. : No expertise claimed. Hopefully aythya-ists can illuminate which differences are most consistent and important to look at, or at least which ones typically show up best in photos. : Cheers, : Phil

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