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Duck ID Vt. USA (1 Viewer)

Good news bad news

The hybrid was still there yesterday but in my haste i scared it off.:-C I shall try again today. I think this is the hybrid in flight although with me on the camera you never know.
 

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The hybrid was still there yesterday but in my haste i scared it off.:-C I shall try again today. I think this is the hybrid in flight although with me on the camera you never know.

Hi Steveo , I think that is not the hybrid, as this bird has white outer tail feathers and at least partly pale tertials. On the other photos the hybrid seems to have a dark tail and dark tertials.

(I am thinking mallard for that one here)

But Many thanks for the efforts. Please try again , if you find the time ! I´d be really happy to identify this one!

Cheers, Jörn
 
Joern: "i am not convinced why it should be hoodie x woodie...could you explain why you think so; Vinch?"

>>> Of course, Joern. This picture would explain very easily my opinion.
I'm just in trouble with purple glint of Hoodie-Woodie head...
 

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Joern: "i am not convinced why it should be hoodie x woodie...could you explain why you think so; Vinch?"

>>> Of course, Joern. This picture would explain very easily my opinion.
I'm just in trouble with purple glint of Hoodie-Woodie head...

I can clearly see the wood duck traits, but not the Hooded merganser!
 
Joern: "i am not convinced why it should be hoodie x woodie...could you explain why you think so; Vinch?"

>>> Of course, Joern. This picture would explain very easily my opinion.
I'm just in trouble with purple glint of Hoodie-Woodie head...

To me, the bill looks too "spatula" shaped to be either from a merganser or a wood duck. The two-toned bill had me thinking Ring-necked Duck.
 
More shots this evening.

Still from far away but it just occured to me that I should try to feed them to attract closer. They are on a large flat field so sneaking up is out of the question. Hope these help I thought the head drooped down low in flight might help.
 

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I can clearly see the wood duck traits, but not the Hooded merganser!

Check out the new photo! Note in the standing picture the alternating white streaks in line with a classic male Hooded Merg's white secondaries - also seen in the in-flight picture.

What an amazing bird! I feel that the case is strong for Woodie x Hoodie. Now to determine who was the mommy and who was the daddy... ;)
 
Still from far away but it just occured to me that I should try to feed them to attract closer. They are on a large flat field so sneaking up is out of the question. Hope these help I thought the head drooped down low in flight might help.


Yes, I think this clinches it...Looks indeed like hoodie x woodie. I was hesitating before because the flanks seemed paler and more greyish than what I would have expected. (Head gloss wasn´t worrying me that much because on woodie heads most gloss is green, but there are areas with slightly purple gloss. I also would have expected some white markings on the head) Thanks for the collage which explained your thoughts nicely , Vinch!

Many thanks for your efforts, Steveo!This should be documented with photos as good as possible, this is something really rare. So if by any chance you are able to get more photos, that would be great....i guess this is a 1 in a million hybrid or rarer.
 
Yes, I think this clinches it...Looks indeed like hoodie x woodie. I was hesitating before because the flanks seemed paler and more greyish than what I would have expected. (Head gloss wasn´t worrying me that much because on woodie heads most gloss is green, but there are areas with slightly purple gloss. I also would have expected some white markings on the head) Thanks for the collage which explained your thoughts nicely , Vinch!

Many thanks for your efforts, Steveo!This should be documented with photos as good as possible, this is something really rare. So if by any chance you are able to get more photos, that would be great....i guess this is a 1 in a million hybrid or rarer.

AGREE. I propose Steveo present this to Frontiers of ID (BIRDWG01). It's important to get these photos out there.
 
hybrid pair reported in Hybrid Ducks: A Contribution Towards an Inventory by Eric Gillham; Barry Gillham 1996 version, page 24 , Russell R. P. 1978. First record of a Hooded Merganser–Wood Duck hybrid in the wild. Loon 50:208–209. And J.M. Bouvier 1974 The breeding biology of the Hooded Merganser in Quebec, including interactions with Common Goldeneyes and Wood Ducks Canadian Field Naturalists v. 88 323-330.
 
hybrid pair reported in Hybrid Ducks: A Contribution Towards an Inventory by Eric Gillham; Barry Gillham 1996 version, page 24 , Russell R. P. 1978. First record of a Hooded Merganser–Wood Duck hybrid in the wild. Loon 50:208–209. And J.M. Bouvier 1974 The breeding biology of the Hooded Merganser in Quebec, including interactions with Common Goldeneyes and Wood Ducks Canadian Field Naturalists v. 88 323-330.

yes, but the descripion in the Gillham book is not sufficient for anybody who sees something like that in the field, and there´s no photos!
 
What an amazing bird! I feel that the case is strong for Woodie x Hoodie. Now to determine who was the mommy and who was the daddy... ;)

Now the really odd question for me is,
why this bird seems to be interested in female Mallards?:eek!:

probably a really big identity crisis...;)
 
Now the really odd question for me is,
why this bird seems to be interested in female Mallards?:eek!:

probably a really big identity crisis...;)

Yes... But all processes of hybridization denote identity crisis, no? Or sometimes, hypersexuality crisis (especially for mallards and woodie drakes...) ?
 
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