Since I have some past experience in South Korea, I sometimes get questions about IDs from there. I recently received a link to an ebird report from Seoul, South Korea from 31 December 2017 around which there is a debate about whether one bird reported is a Redhead, Common Pochard, or some kind of hybrid. I was thinking Redhead because of the sloping forehead, yellow eye, and bill that was not as horizontally held as Common Pochard. But I don’t have a high degree of confidence in my guess. Any ideas? Thanks.
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Redhead? Common Pochard? Hybrid? Seoul (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jimthom
- Start date
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
Perhaps a Pochard x Ferruginous Duck hybrid?
birdmeister
Well-known member
Something about the head shape doesn't look quite right for Redhead to me.
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
Head shape + relative size and colour of the eye
Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
I can find some redhead photos with a bright yellow eye, but I agree the head shape is more pochard-like than redhead.
Also if the darker grey "shoulders" are real and not a photographic effect, then neither pochard nor redhead have that.
Also if the darker grey "shoulders" are real and not a photographic effect, then neither pochard nor redhead have that.
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
Bright yellow yes, from golden-yellow to almost orange, but that very pale, almost whitish eye seems to be extremely rare at best (I couldn't find any). I also meant the eye was disproportionately large, it's just way too big for any Redhead I can find on a (quick, admittedly) google images search (and this feature doesn't seem to result from image quality). And yes, head shape, too narrow/peaked and really closer to Pochard or Ferruginous Duck. In Collins (Svensson et al fieldguide) a hybrid just like this bird is illustrated.
Joern Lehmhus
Well-known member
Hi all,
yes, I agree this is a Common Pochard- Ferruginous Duck hybrid. This hybrid is variable, but often the shoulders are darker than the flanks and eye color can appear pale yellowish-white. In most examples of this hybrid, the breast is reddish brown but there are some birds (possibly at least some of them backcrosses to Pochard) with black or partly black breast. Head shape and bill coloration is also good for this hybrid.
Part of the variation is visible in these links (possibly including Backcrosses to einer parent species):
https://waarneming.nl/foto/view/10096029
http://erbirds.ru/blogs/2017/2017010301250101.jpg
http://www.khil.net/blog/wp-content...e_hybrid_moorente_ferruginous-duck_aythya.jpg
http://birdhybrids.blogspot.de/2014/04/common-pochard-x-ferruginous-duck.html
https://waarneming.nl/fotonew/4/4461044.jpg
https://waarneming.nl/foto/view/8025307
https://waarneming.nl/foto/view/12645009
http://anserbirding.co.uk/blog/wp-c...Ferruginous-x-Pochard-male-Rushy-9-Nov-13.jpg
https://waarneming.nl/foto/view/7840761
http://www.bavarianbirds.net/what/cbirding/mix/hybrid.html
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
I think I can see a very dark brown/chestnut hue on the chest (becomes more evident on the rear border, contacting the flank) of the OP bird; the contrast seems to be a bit enhanced on the photo.
Here's a few more examples of this hybrid (all photos possibly of the same bird), from this winter and 2012 at the Algarve, Portugal, which might be interesting for your records:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/arade/6842566439/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/arade/38401013691/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/arade/38401012831/
Last edited:
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
You're welcome, but it was Roland who did that :t:
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