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Aberrant dabbling duck in Egypt (1 Viewer)

K

Kent Olsen

Well-known member
On November 11, 2008 I photographed this dabbling duck at Hurghada Sewage Farm in Egypt. There were Northern Shovelers and Eurasian Teals. When they all flew off the duck in the photos stayed around.

On location I thought that it was an aberrant Teal, but when evaluating the photos I get some Garganey felling about the bill length.

Could it be a hybrid or is it an aberrant Teal?

Kent
 

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adult female(?) teal in my eyes. i think it has dipped its bill in mud making the bill appear longer. speculum is shining green (seen in the 2nd pic), white border basal to the speculum seems to taper.
 
The upper wing in flying bird shoves characters as a Teal and not Garganey. I think that due to hot weather the bird appears slimmer than normal as the plumage is held close to the head and body and further because of worn feathers they become marginally thinner. The thinner plumage could enhance the impression of a long bill
 
Joern Lehmhus said:
That was also my thoughts...
Click to expand...

intriguing- I've learned to reflect very carefully before going into bat on this sub-forum when CAU and all have spoken...but in pic #3,

- warm gingery cast on the inner tips to whitish secondary coverts

- the blue sheen on the speculum

- the sharp contrast between inner speculum (coloured) and outer (dark looking)

isn't that all very Teal?

(just for speculum purposes, here's a Danish comparison
http://www.fugleognatur.dk/gallery.asp?mode=ShowLarge&ID=73156 )
 
I think Lou and Ed might be right after all. The spots on the breast would fit better a moulting male Teal than a Garganey (I still believe that it's a male due to the apparent vermiculation on the flanks). Also like Ed note, also the apparently buffish tips to the inner greater coverts fit better Teal, as well as the apparent contrast on the speculum (which I can see on my monitor only when I lighten the last two pictures). Generally the upperwing pattern fits Teal, but a first winter male Garganey has also a tapering white frontal border to the speculum, and a narrower white trailing edge to the arm than an adult male. The colour of the speculum is greenish on both male Teal and male Garganey, and I would suspect that it can appear bluish also on a Garganey. Garganeys look paler than Teals in winter partly because of extensive wear (they moult generally much later than Teals), but Teals wintering in Sahara will probably bleach more than those wintering in Europe.
 
the standing bird looks extremely pale and unpatterned, this seemed much more like garganey to me.

But look at these garganeys in flight:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2297602627_2582e12398.jpg?v=0


Apart from these points already mentioned by Ed:
- the warm cast on the inner tips to whitish secondary coverts
- the blue sheen on the speculum and green in standing bird
- the sharp contrast between inner speculum (coloured) and outer (black)

Shouldn't the white tips of secondaries and secondary coverts be broader in a male garganey than in this bird?

i am wondering what an extremely sun-bleached teal would look?
 
Oups, cross posting...

an additional discussion point: Concerning speculum, I do not remember that I have ever seen garganey speculum look blue? (I have only seen dark greenish or coppery tones in garganey speculum) maybe it can also look blue -- but you see that regularly in teal in a certain angle, and on the other picture with the standing bird you get a glimpse of very light green on the speculum
 
Joern Lehmhus said:
Oups, cross posting...

an additional discussion point: Concerning speculum, I do not remember that I have ever seen garganey speculum look blue? (I have only seen dark greenish or coppery tones in garganey speculum) maybe it can also look blue -- but you see that regularly in teal in a certain angle, and on the other picture with the standing bird you get a glimpse of very light green on the speculum
Click to expand...

exactly that's what i meant jörn. i think the bluish (on my screen dark bluish purple) is that effect on a teal speculum that sometimes fools people. and i'd agree with CAU that it might be a male with those dots on the breast. i thought that the small white line on the side of undertail coverts was best for teal. it's visible in pix 1-2.
edit for jörn: btw. the now moulting male garganey still winters in stuttgart (untere anlagen), i think it does it the 4th or 5th winter. - pic is from 3. november

best whishes
 

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is the flying bird definitely the same bird? All I see in the flying bird is teal, but the standing bird does look like Cau's links. Very washed out individual, I can't make out a pale wedge on the tail sides, which is usually what I like to see when picking teal out of other small ducks. But as it's washed out, doesn't mean it isn't there. Just because it's easier to join a group, I favour teal, there's something about that square head that looks right, even if the bill looks long. But then again, I had a lot more beer than I intended to tonight.
 
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