Whatbird.com

Was hoping I could get some help with the duck in the left center of this photo. Was spotted in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in N.J. this past December amongst Mallards , Canadian Geese & a few Hooded Mergansers. Sorry about the poor quality of the photo, it's a greatly enlarged portion of a larger picture. Hope it's enough to go on.

Thanks - Greg

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" I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses , reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use . "

Galileo Galilei

Tough to say, but I'd guess mallard hen or widgeon hen.  If I'm looking at the right bird.

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Don't cry because it's over, smile because you were there.

This guy does not really strike me as a female Mallard (though it could be).

I'm going to lay off and see what other predictions come up.

And that's actually a great picture!  

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~Makachoa~

Actually, I think we can rule out the female Mallard, because there is no purple underwing, as female and male Mallards have.

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~Makachoa~

Are you talking about the brownish duck that is facing to the right?

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Matthew 6:26

Im going to say there are 2 male and 2 female mallards. The closer of the females is scratching herself with her foot so her body is turned weird.

Sorry , should have been more specific. Of the two ducks on the left side of the photo I'm talking about the one in the foreground. I assumed the one behind it was a Mallard hen & the two on the right were Mallard Drakes. Just not sure about the one in front.

Thanks Again - Greg

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" I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses , reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use . "

Galileo Galilei

Its definitely a female Green winged teal. You can see the buffy streak on the rear end, which makes it a female Green winged teal. On page 88 in Sibley it shows that.

Thanks everyone !! What originally got me questioning this bird was the reddish color near the birds breast which I originally thought was part of it's plummage but as Jello5700 pointed out it is actually her foot which you can see if you blow up the picture. I think I agree with barredowl's ID of a Green Winged Teal Hen though because of the reasons he stated & also if you blow up the picture again you can see a hint of green at the base of the wing & a stripe going through the eye also. Thanks again for everyone's input !!

Greg

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" I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses , reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use . "

Galileo Galilei

I'm not seeing it.  I don't agree with GWT.  I don't see the green at the base of the wing, and lots of hens have the "stripe" across their face.  Not to mention that it is nearly the same size as the mallard just feet away from it.  Also, the feet on it are orange.  A GWT hen's feet are a gray color. 

My guess would be either mallard hen or gadwall hen.

Definitely not a Green-winged Teal.  They do not have red legs.

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Joseph Morlan
Fall Birding Classes in San Francisco start September 9

Gadwall Drake and Hen to the left of the photo.  Zoomed in you can see the smaller bill size on the hen instead of mallard hen also it looks to have some maroon(or whatever color you want to call it) on top of wing like the drake does. Drake is in the foreground with hen behind.

I'm with you dukhntr85.

Sorry , guess I'm not sure at all now. When I saw the green on the wing I was looking on my wifes laptop. Now that I'm looking on my PC I don't see it either. Can't deny the problem with the foot color either. Was wondering though, if it was a Gadwall shouldn't the foot be more yellow then red ? I'm not trying to be a pain, just a newbie trying to figure out how to come to a proper conclusion. Thanks again everyone for the help !

Greg

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" I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses , reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use . "

Galileo Galilei

Well, you're right about the feet.  That's why I originally said gadwall or mallard hen.  It's tough to say.