Hello, Birders. Finally, Hannah and Andrew and I caught up with that hybrid duck at Cottonwood Marsh, Boulder County. We observed the bird repeatedly at close range through a scope this afternoon, Thursday, March 24th.
Everything about it suggests to me that it's a straightforward basic (=breeding) adult male first-generation (F1) Eurasian x American Wigeon. If I'm not mistaken, that was Cara Stiles's first instinct on the bird's ID, and I think we should have stuck with that. Here's what Hannah and Andrew and I noted on the bird: * Size and shape. Pretty much identical to that of nearby American Wigeons. And that includes the bill, which is a nice, steely, blue-gray all over, tipped in black (good for either parental species) and lacking a thin black line at the base (good for Eurasian Wigeon). * The rear 2/3 of the bird are pretty much perfect for Eurasian Wigeon, except for a few intrusions of ruddy-orange on the flanks. That's textbook-perfect for a Eurasian x American Wigeon hybrid. Although we never saw the bird's speculum, several folks have noted that it is greenish--just fine for the bird's Eurasian parent. * The background color of the head is peach-orange, palest on the crown. Perfect for the Eurasian parent. * The broad green post-ocular crescent is, of course, all-American. * The bird's breast is generally gray, with some ruddy-orange. Fine for a hybrid. The bird seems to me to about as standard-fare an F1 hybrid as you're likely to see anywhere. One other thing: Probability. Eurasian x American Wigeon is one of the most commonly noted anserine hybrids. Great bird! Thanks to Cara for finding it. It's great that so many Eurasian Wigeon genes have reached Boulder County; and if you're a biologically inclined birder, that's good enough for an entry on the ole county life list! ------------------------------- Ted Floyd Editor, Birding Blog: http://tinyurl.com/4n6qswt Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/2ejzlzv Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/2wkvwxs ------------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
