Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 09:08:06 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Sherry Peruzzi Subject: Re: Comments on White-fronted Goose bill color MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit My post when I saw the bird Monday was that it had a "peachy-pink" bill. It was not a pure pink, but nor was it orange, like a mute swan's (as Bonnie said). It was resting in the water both times I observed it, so I didn't see the legs to make any comparison with them. But the bill color was actually peach, pretty much halfway between true orange and true pink. I observed the goose for about 10 minutes at 2:30 pm (when the sun was still reasonably high), from a distance of 15-20 yards with 12X bins. Sherry Marshall Iliff wrote: > > 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================