Tufted Duck x Lesser Scaup

Tufted Duck x Lesser Scaup hybrid, Ambleside Duckpond, West Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), 19th March 2007 - copyright Paul Kusmin

(photo ID: 3144)

It seems pretty clear that this bird is a Tufted Duck x Scaup sp. hybrid but whether Greater or Lesser Scaup is involved is not so straightforward.  The coarseness of the vermiculations on the upperpart is different from at least some Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrids and I think that is very likely to point to Lesser Scaup parentage.  In the two photos (above and below) the darkness of the upperparts looks different - that is often true in Tufted Duck x Scaup sp. hybrids, varying according to light and angle to the observer.

Tufted Duck x Lesser Scaup hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 3144 above), Ambleside Duckpond, West Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), 16th March 2007 - copyright Paul Kusmin

(photo ID: 3145)

Tufted Duck x Lesser Scaup was the suggested ID for the following bird on the other side of the Atlantic (Tufted Ducks are vagrants among Lesser Scaup in North America while Lesser Scaups are vagrants among Tufted Ducks in Europe, so the hybrid is just as likely to occur on either continent).  The identification of this bird was discussed but I couldn't see that any clear conclusions were reached - as always, comments welcome.  There is also a video of this bird on YouTube.

possible Tufted Duck x Lesser Scaup hybrid, Møllekrogen (Denmark), 14th October 2016 - copyright Rasmus Strack

(photo ID: 3065)

Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis

Northern Pintail x Tufted Duck

possible Northern Pintail x Tufted Duck hybrid, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 3rd March 2012 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo ID: 2041)

Drake Anas x Aythya hybrids are tricky enough and we really struggle with the females.  Hopefully in time with more examples to study we'll get more confident but at the moment I think the 'possible' qualifier is needed here.  Having said that as Andy points out the broad white trailing edge to a rather plain brown speculum (shown in his photo below) would appear to be a strong pointer to Pintail being one of the parents.  Both the bill pattern and the colour under the tail have been suggested as indicators of Pintail parentage but we have seen these features on hybrid wildfowl where neither parent species show them, so this may not be the case.

Many of the ducks at this site have been released for shooting so that is the likely origin for this hybrid.  As can be seen below it mainly associates with Pintail.

 possible Northern Pintail x Tufted Duck hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 2041 above; with Northern Pintails), Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 3rd March 2012 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo IDs: 2042-2044)

possible Northern Pintail x Tufted Duck hybrid, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 20th January 2012 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo IDs: 2045-2047)

Northern Pintail Anas acuta
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Chestnut Teal x Tufted Duck

possible Chestnut Teal x Tufted Duck hybrid, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 26th December 2012 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo ID: 2032)

Dabbling duck (Anas sp.) x diving duck (Aythya sp.) hybrids can be a real challenge to identify and this one is no exception.  The site is frequented by ducks released for shooting - mainly British species (especially Wigeon, Gadwall and Pintail) but numerous hybrids have been seen here too.  Chestnut Teal of course is not a British species, but the red eye and ruddy plumage tones may point to that species being involved here.  The red eye could come from Pochard but if that were the Aythya parent would we not expect a paler back?  On the other hand are the finely vermiculated flanks shown above what you would expect on a Chestnut Teal hybrid?  This is certainly one that we haven't resolved yet.

Andy tells us that this bird was diving for food like an Aythya sp.  Other features he draws attention to include the speculum mostly green but with some blue, green or purple gloss to the head depending on the angle and subdued mottling to the breast.

possible Chestnut Teal x Tufted Duck hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 2032 above), Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 26th December 2012 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo ID: 2033)

possible Chestnut Teal x Tufted Duck hybrid (presumably same bird as in photo IDs 2032-2033 above), Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 29th October 2012 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo IDs: 2034-2035)

Chestnut Teal Anas castanea
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck

Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid, Pontefract Park, Pontefract (West Yorkshire, UK), 14th February 2017 - copyright Philip Ridsdale

(photo ID: 3078)

This is a very striking hybrid when seen in good light, though I guess could be overlooked among Tufted Ducks if not seen so well.  The strong orange tones to the crown feathers are distinctive (though not very dissimilar to those of a Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid), the back is not jet black and the bill is pinkish.  Like Red-crested Pochard x Common Pochard hybrids the rear border of the black breast is sloped down towards the rear of the duck as it is on Red-crested Pochard.

Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid (with Tufted Ducks; same bird as in photo ID 3078 above), Pontefract Park, Pontefract (West Yorkshire, UK), 14th February 2017 - copyright Philip Ridsdale

(photo IDs: 3079-3081)

Joern Lehmhus has written about this hybrid in the German magazine Aves.  The text is in German but non-German speakers may still be interested as it's accompanied by a couple of photos of Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrids.  You can access the PDF of Aves 4 (2013) - the article starts on page 21 with section 2.4 on this hybrid beginning at page 25 - the two photos captioned "Reiherente x Kolbenente" are Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrids.



Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck

Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (with Tufted Ducks), Gavnoe (Zealand, Denmark), 18th March 2006 - copyright Rasmus Strack

(photo ID: 0907)

I'm sure Rasmus did the best that was possible given the distance from the bird, but I hope we soon have some closer shots of this hybrid before long...  But even at this distance there is enough to see that this is no ordinary Tufted Duck. Lars Michael Nelson who found this bird says it showed intermediate flank colour and head markings.  

This bird also showed a green head-sheen which may come as a surprise for a hybrid between two species which both normally show purplish head sheens (although they can appear green under certain light conditions).  In fact this is normal for Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids.  The head sheen colour is affected by the structure of the feathers, not just the pigments, so possibly an intermediate feather structure can reflect the light in such a way that the colour reflected is not intermediate?

Joern Lehmhus has written about Aythya hybrids in the German magazine Aves.  The text is in German but non-German speakers may still be interested as it's accompanied by a photo of Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid.  You can access the PDF of Aves 3 (2012) - the article starts on page 32 with section 5 covering this hybrid beginning at page 38 - the photo captioned "Reiherente x Ringschnabelente" (Abb. 28) is a Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid. 


Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Mallard x Tufted Duck

Mallard x Tufted Duck hybrid, Degnemosen, Copenhagen (Denmark), 1990s - copyright Rasmus Strack

(photo ID: 0899)

This is an old photo, scanned from a slide.  Rasmus's friend Lars Michael Nielson tells us that this bird's behaviour was intermedaite between the two praent species.  It was both surface feeding like a Mallard and diving like a Tufted Duck.  Two more scanned images appear below:

Mallard x Tufted Duck hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 0899 above), Degnemosen, Copenhagen (Denmark), 1990s - copyright Rasmus Strack

(photo IDs: 1607-1608)

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid, Malmoe (Sweden), probably spring 2002 - copyright Carl Gunnar Gustavsson

(photo ID: 1077)

This bird is close to Tufted Duck in appearance but with its finely vermiculated dark grey (not black) back it can't be a pure Tufted Duck.  Although not proven its appearance seems to be consistent with Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid.  Carl Gunnar has learned that some ducklings were seen nearby a few years earlier which were suspected of being female Scaup x male Tufted Duck.

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 1077), Malmoe (Sweden), probably spring 2002 - copyright Carl Gunnar Gustavsson

(photo IDs: 1078-1081)

This female was seen in the same area the same summer.  The bill tip pattern doesn't seem quite right for a pure Greater Scaup and it's probably another hybrid.

probable Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid, Malmoe (Sweden), probably summer 2002 - copyright Carl Gunnar Gustavsson

(photo IDs: 1074-1076)

The next bird is probably the same male as shown above (photo IDs 1077-1081), but in partial eclipse plumage.

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (probably same bird as in photo IDs 1077-1081), Malmoe (Sweden), uncertain date - copyright Carl Gunnar Gustavsson

(photo IDs: 1082-1087)

The next bird is captive but spent the whole duration of Joern's visit asleep, preventing him from seeing the bill pattern or iris colour.  The only candidate parent species kept at the zoo were Common Pochard, Tufted Duck and Greater Scaup.  Joern explains:

"The general coloration is somewhat similar to Greater Scaup, but the mantle is a bit darker. There is a bump of feathers or a short crest at the rear of the head, indicating Tufted Duck involvement.  Tufted Duck x Common Pochard can look superficially similar, but in general the flanks of this type of hybrid are slightly greyish and the vermiculations on the mantle are less course than here.  Therefore in my opinion this bird is most likely a hybrid Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup."

probable Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid, Zoo Köln (Germany), 2nd November 2012 - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(photo ID: 0570)

It was interesting to see how the darkness of the upperparts on the next bird varied according to the angle of the bird and different light conditions.  When I first picked it up it looked as pale as a Scaup but quickly morphed into a darker-looking beast.  It never looked as dark as some of the photos above though.  Noticeably larger than Tufted Ducks it was accompanying making the Scaup parent Greater.  The vermiculations on the upperparts are not clearly visible in the photos but were easily seen in the field, albeit much less obvious than on either Scaup species, especially Lesser.

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid, Lound Lakes (Norfolk/Suffolk border, UK), 7th March 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 3130-3136)

Female Tufted Ducks with a lot of white around the bill and little or no tuft showing are often touted as possible Tufted Duck x Scaup hybrids (or even misidentified as pure Scaup) but in most cases they are just Tufted Ducks.  The bird below differed from these in that I got a good clear look at the head over a period of time and its feathers were ruffled and raised sufficiently for me to establish that it certainly did not have an elongated tuft, rather than this simply not being visible.  Moreover the structure seemed quite Scaup-like, although it was as small as a Tufted Duck.  At some angles the upperparts and flanks seemed to lack any grey feathering (although they were paler than on the accompanying Tufted Ducks) but at some angles there seemed to be a distinct greyish tone to upperparts and flanks.  Some photos seem to hint at an extensive dark tip to the bill as on Tufted Duck but in the field this seemed to be lacking - it certainly was not as obvious as it often is on Tufted Duck.

Unfortunately poor light, my longest lens being away for repairs and my general lack of technical skill mean that the photos I took are all quite poor.

probable Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (with Pochard), Salhouse Broad (Norfolk, UK), 1st January 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0483-0487)

Next up are a male and a female on consecutive days:

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (with Tufted Ducks), Moellekrog (Denmark), 25th October 2004 - copyright Rasmus Strack

(photo ID: 0906)

Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid, Lake Esrom (Denmark), 26th October 2004 - copyright Rasmus Strack

(photo ID: 0905)

Joern Lehmhus has written about Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrids in the German magazine Aves.  The text is in German but non-German speakers may still be interested as it's accompanied by a number of photos of Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrids.  You can access the PDF of Aves 3 (2012) - the article starts on page 32 with section 2 on this hybrid beginning at page 35 - the five photos captioned "Reiherente x Bergente" are Tufted Duck x Greater Scaup hybrids.

Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
Greater Scaup Aythya marila