Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 07:08:11 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Harvey, David A." Subject: Re: Comments on White-fronted Goose bill color MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" The bird has an orange bill and appears to be an adult Greenland race. Dave Harvey Sykesville, MD -----Original Message----- From: Marshall Iliff [mailto:Miliff@AOL.COM] Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 1:57 AM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Comments on White-fronted Goose bill color Bonnie and other goose-chasers, I noticed in the initial post that the bill of this Greater White-fronted Goose was described as "pink". Most of you are probably aware that two races are known from the east. The more common is apparently the Greenland subspecies _flavirostris_ that has an orange bill about the same color as the legs. Also possible are westen birds _gambeli_ (subspecies names have been variable) which have a distinctly pink bill that is quite different in color from the legs. Greenland birds may also be darker about the head and neck, have more black on the belly, and have less pale edging above (per Sibley 2000). Every one of the c.15 White-fronted Geese I have seen in MD has been distinctly orange-billed, as have all photographs I have seen. I know of only one report of an apparent "pink-billed" bird, that of Dave Czaplak on the National Geographic Society pond in the mid-1990s. Pink-billed birds should be expected to occur and have been proven in other states, but should be photographed to confirm their subspecific identity. Can any Howard countians shed light on the bill colorn or racial identity of this bird? Does anyone have comments from elsewhere in MD (i.e. has anyone else seen a pink-billed bird in MD?). Kenn Kaufman wirte a cautionary note in Birding several years back which uggested that he thought Greenland White-fronts were over-reported in the East due to the difficulty of distinguishing bill color. I disagree based-on my MD experience, but fully expect a western-type bird eventually. I will be out looking for the Howard Co. bird tomorrow. Best, Marshall Iliff miliff@aol.com Ocean City, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================