Joern Lehmhus
Well-known member
But there is a record of Gadwall x Hooded Merganser in Sibley's 1994 Birding article.
I think that was later stated to be an error.
But there is a record of Gadwall x Hooded Merganser in Sibley's 1994 Birding article.
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.
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...
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!
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.
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.
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...