Gadwall - Anas strepera

Maybe I like the duck family because they're so easy to identify, as least regarding the male ducks, a.k.a. drakes. Female ducks are often called hens, but strangely enough they are all called "ducks".

The gray duck here is known as the Gadwall, Anas strepera - one of my favorites. The unaided eye sees him as a duck with gray body and head, black butt, and sometimes a white patch toward the rear (the "speculum", or the secondary inner wing feathers, seen well in flight).

Las Gallinas is a reliable spot for seeing Gadwalls, either in the slough along the west end or on the ponds themselves, especially pond #3. A slow walk will allow one to see them close at hand, as with this one on Dec. 29:

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The black and white feathers on the breast form a pattern of shingles, whereas those on the side and flank are seen as wavy lines that are called vermiculations. Most striking of all are the delicate feathers on the back, known as scapulars, and the long silvery feathers toward the rear that are the tertials (innermost wing feathers). The bill of the male is a plain dark gray.

The side view, taken seconds later, gives a better profile of the smallish bill and the not-quite-round head, along with the dark gray wingtips (primaries).

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Saw this young male Gadwall (Anas strepera) at Las Gallinas a few years ago. He was swimming with a female Gadwall, and I was struck by the fact that his head looked more like a female's, as it lacked the unusual male Gadwall's "puffy" profile, and the bill had orange on the sides like that of a female. 

The vermiculated pattern on the flanks has not fully developed.  So this makes him a hatch year male.

Here's another mature male from Las Gallina, with dark bill and a more typical profile.