Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser

Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser hybrid, Ottawa River (Ontario, Canada), 26th October - copyright Gordon Johnston

(photo ID: 2997)

Goldeneye sp. x Hooded Merganser hybrids are fairly frequently reported in the wild and broadly speaking this is a typical plumage for either.  The majority of reports probably relate to Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser.  The head colour seems to reflect that of the Goldeneye parent species at least in many instances, but you can't really make that out here.  However the extent of white in the scapulars helps clinch this one as involving Common Goldeneye rather than Barrow's Goldeneye.

We already have a page featuting a probable female Goldeneye sp. x Hooded Merganser which, in view of the extent of yellow on its bill is possibly more likely to involve Barrow's Goldeneye.


Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica
Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus