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Bird Photos: Escapees: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
This Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was originally
reported by Caroline Nabeta on 10/16/03 at the Ridgemark Golf
Course in Hollister, CA. The identification was confirmed by Mark
Paxton the same day. I took these photos on 11/12/03. Caroline
later found and spoke with the person who owns this duck. It apparently
had a mate, but she died. It flies freely to and from its home.
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This Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
was seen in the company of Mallards, Mallard X ? hybrids,
two Mute Swans, two Black Swans and several domestic geese.
This bird sought the relative safety of the group of birds,
but didn't appear to relate to them very closely, often
maintaining some distance from them. While it didn't allow
me to get too close, it was reported to approach some golfers
along with the other waterfowl. There are human residents
at this combination golf course and residential community
who feed the waterfowl. |
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The species has not yet been
accepted as a naturally occurring wild bird in Northern
California. Sightings from this part of the State are usually
considered to be of escapees from a live collection of birds.
It can be seen that the right hallux (hind toe) has been
cut off, a sign of captivity. |
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The left hallux was intact
and it had no leg bands, nor were the wings pinioned (clipped),
as can be seen in this and the following full images. It
could fly very well and it did seem to leave the area for
a nearly a month. The unclipped flight feathers are probably
a result from it's pre-basic molt, which it should have
just completed. Because of the timing of the molt, at this
time, it would be difficult to know if the flight feathers
were pinioned prior to this molt. |
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No leg bands, all of the flight
feathers appear to be present, but see the enlargement of
the toes, below. It should be noted that even in the absence
of these evidence of captivity, one should not automatically
assume that a bird like this is of wild origin. |
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Here's a detail of the above
image. You may be able to see the stub of the right hallux
and the whole left hallux. It is possible that the bird
could have lost this appendage in the wild. |
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It could fly very easily.
All the flight feathers seem intact and unpinioned. |
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Another flight shot. |
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Here's a detail of the above
image. Again, you may be able to see the stub of the right
hallux and the whole left hallux. |
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PERMISSION TO DO SO. You may create links to these pages.
All images on this page are copyrighted by Les Chibana.
If you'd like to contact me about images on these pages,
grab the pigeon on the left and send a note. |
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