Posted by Courtenay Peddle (209.247.254.11) on December 24, 2001 at 13:12:43:
I've never seen any scaup as pale as the one at right in the upper picture. The ear patch is usually much more contrasty. I believe that both are hybrids. The drake's head is too flat (and Mallard-like), the eye too high in the head for a scaup, and the bird appears to have a pale collar just where a Mallard's is.
As to the lower picture, I have a foot *firmly* in both camps; the forehead appears too steep for a greater, but the back of the head too rounded for a lesser. Luckily, the census forms I fill out have an entry for "Scaup sp." which I'm happy to use for this bird.
Happy holidays,
Courtenay