Aix sponsa Status: Common regular spring and fall migrant east, fairly common west. Common regular breeder east and central, uncommon west. Rare regular winter visitor south and east, rare casual north and west. Documentation: Specimen: WSC 33, Oct 1971 Antelope Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (Avilist 2025). Spring: winter <<<>>> summer (south and east); […]
[RUDDY SHELDUCK]
Tadorna ferruginea Status: No accepted records. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Comments: The Nebraska reports are of single birds and are certainly escaped or released birds: one at Kearney Lake, Buffalo Co, 24 Feb 1997 was considered an escapee based on its behavior, including “aggressive begging, following people around, and approaching cars and […]
[EGYPTIAN GOOSE]
Alopochen aegyptiacus Status: No accepted records. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Comments: This species, actually a shelduck, has no history of wild vagrancy to the Western Hemisphere; it is assumed it established in North America as a result of escaped and/or released birds (Callaghan et al 2020). It has been reported a few […]
TUNDRA SWAN
Cygnus columbianus columbianus Status: Increasing. Uncommon regular spring and fall migrant and winter visitor statewide. Documentation: Specimen: HMM 2822, 27 Oct 1917 Doniphan, Hall Co. Taxonomy: There are two subspecies, columbianus and bewickii, the latter Eurasian in distribution (AviList 2025). The subspecies were formerly treated as separate species, Whistling Swan (columbianus) of North America, and […]
MUTE SWAN
Cygnus olor Status: Rare casual winter visitor east. Documentation: Photograph: 7 Nov 2015 Dakota Co (Brogie 2016). Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). There are two color morphs of downy Mute Swan, gray (“Royal”) and white (“Polish”, or leucistic); the differences persist in plumage and in bare parts color through the juvenile stage (Wood […]
CACKLING GOOSE
Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii, B. H. MINIMA, B. H. TAVERNERI Status: Common, locally abundant, regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Fairly common regular winter visitor west and central, uncommon east. Rare regular summer visitor south and east, rare casual west. Documentation: hutchinsii: specimen, SUI 06721, 8 Nov 1884, Elm Creek, Buffalo Co; minima: photograph, Mlodinow eBird […]