This male Gadwall with unusual head
plumage was in the large flock of Redheads and Greater Scaup at
Tommy Thompson Park on 6 March 2016. It has a white neck band that
extends up and around the cheek and under the eye, and the top of
the head and nape are contrastingly dark compared to the side of the
face. Palmer (1976) notes that a few individuals have a complete or
broken white collar on the lower neck.
A search of photos on the internet
produced photos of Gadwall with a darker head and nape contrasting
with paler face, and a few with a whitish neck band, but none had
head markings as dramatic as in above photos. Tommy Thompson Park on
6 March 2016
