Mysterious fowl

[seeth07]

Any idea what these are? I've never seen anything like them before and as someone with a pretty darn good knowledge of waterfowl and good ability to use Google, I'm stumped. We didn't shoot them for the obvious reason that we just didn't know what they were. They flew in and cupped just like ducks. They were about the size of mallards, maybe a bit bigger like cans.

 

[choc dogs]

First thought probably wrong in retrospect

 

[Letthemgrow]

Not juvenile snow geese? The black and white striped wing tips look similar.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I also think juvenile snows. Where is this?

 

[seeth07]

Southern New mexico. I've seen and shot a pair of juvie snows before and they didn't have black legs like these did. Also the beaks of the juvie snows was like a dirty orange, not jet black like these. Maybe your are right about it though.

 

[Sask hunter]

Juvie snows have black/grey legs and beaks

 

[jeremys4]

 

[jeremys4]

I’m thinking snows as well

 

[seeth07]

My taxidermist is positive they are not juvie snow but rather juvie Ross (I know basically same thing).

 

[406LIFE]

If I just saw the first picture, I'd say blue snows, 100%. The lacing on the wing tips definitely looks like blue morph snows. Juvis can have lots of gray and shadows. Beaks look a bit off, but maybe its just camera angle.

 

[Hunting Wife]

My taxidermist is positive they are not juvie snow but rather juvie Ross (I know basically same thing).

Possibly but very hard to tell in those photos.

 

[Trailsend]

Not sure, I would lean towards Ross, but the bills look to big.

 

[seeth07]

Possibly but very hard to tell in those photos.

We took a 5 min long video and I was able to send quite a few snips to him. He said the bill and dark band on the head to the eyes is the give away. Idk. I have only shot a few snows (and blues) in my life so my experience is little there.

 

[seeth07]

Ok part two. What the hell? In one of the drake mallards.

 

[Bryerific]

Ok part two. What the hell? In one of the drake mallards.

View attachment 258189View attachment 258190

Looks like rice breast!

 

[Hunting Wife]

I agree bills look too big for Ross in the side view, but again, hard to tell from one view.

That is Sarcocystis. Rice breast. It’s a parasite. Perfectly safe for human consumption, but a lot of people throw them away. Wouldn’t fault you either way.

 

[seeth07]

I agree bills look too big for Ross in the side view, but again, hard to tell from one view.

That is Sarcocystis. Rice breast. It’s a parasite. Perfectly safe for human consumption, but a lot of people throw them away. Wouldn’t fault you either way.

Same as like in fish?

 

[Bryerific]

The bills from the side angle seem more like juvie snows than Ross’s geese because of the size and curved border of the bill but it’s hard to tell (pics both pulled from Google)

 

[Hunting Wife]

Same as like in fish?

Probably? I’m not as familiar with fish diseases, but there are many, many species of Sarcocystis that affect all kinds of reptiles, birds, mammals. They seem to be very host specific.

 

[bullbugle307]

Yep. I shot a mallard with rice breast once, only difference was it had a bunch more of that parasite in it. I tossed it, as everything I saw at the time said to toss it. Now I realize their edible.