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Old 02-23-2010, 08:13 AM   #164
mekcotuit
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Cotuit MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2na View Post
Anyone else ever see one like this? She made it through her 1st winter, probably blended in!
I showed these photo to a friend of mine who is a professor of biology at UMaine and her specialty is birds. (she travels world over studying different kinds) here is what she said:

wow! no, actually, I think it is a male...the bills seems too red to be a female. It may be a 'mosaic' of male and female parts (gynandromorph!)- a genetic/developmental condition where parts of the body develop one way or the other. Usually if birds have white feathers where they should'nt, they tend to have much more of it than this bird! And the non-white parts look like a mix of male and female. Where were photos taken?? good spotting on the photographers part!

"Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." - Henry David Thoreau
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