Pretest — More Tundras or more Trumpeters?
Distinguishing the two species is actually pretty easy most of the time, even if they're not together.
Separated, size doesn't tell us much although on average, Tundras are significantly smaller than Trumpeters — the largest waterfowl in North America.
So what to look for? Well, check just below the eye where the bill attaches to the head. If you see a small yellow spot or speck, it's almost certainly a Tundra. True, a tiny percentage of the latter may not have one, and an equally small percentage of Trumpeters may have a very small one, but these conditions are very, very rare!
While I expect that most of the folks who'll see this series already know how to tell 'em apart, I hope that this will help some of those, especially local, casual observers who were not previously aware of what to look for.
I'll add additional information in some of the other descriptions as well. And soon I'll do two more series — on the Tundras and the Trumpeters separately....
Pretest — More Tundras or more Trumpeters?
Distinguishing the two species is actually pretty easy most of the time, even if they're not together.
Separated, size doesn't tell us much although on average, Tundras are significantly smaller than Trumpeters — the largest waterfowl in North America.
So what to look for? Well, check just below the eye where the bill attaches to the head. If you see a small yellow spot or speck, it's almost certainly a Tundra. True, a tiny percentage of the latter may not have one, and an equally small percentage of Trumpeters may have a very small one, but these conditions are very, very rare!
While I expect that most of the folks who'll see this series already know how to tell 'em apart, I hope that this will help some of those, especially local, casual observers who were not previously aware of what to look for.
I'll add additional information in some of the other descriptions as well. And soon I'll do two more series — on the Tundras and the Trumpeters separately....