American Wigeon x Redhead

captive intersex female American Wigeon x Redhead hybrid, Skagit County (Washington, USA), 25th December 2009 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1539)

 
Steve tells us that this bird was paired with a male Redhead.  Intersexes (females developing male characteristics) seem to be much more frequent among hybrids than pure birds.

 captive intersex female American Wigeon x Redhead hybrid (with Redhead; same bird as in photo ID 1539, above), Skagit County (Washington, USA), 30th November 2008 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1483-1484)

American Wigeon Anas americana
Redhead Aythya americana

Gadwall x American Wigeon

captive Gadwall x American Wigeon hybrid, Skagit County (Washington, USA), 10th December 2005 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1538)

This hybrid is not very dissimilar to Gadwall x Eurasian Wigeon, but that hybrid tends to be greyer on the flanks and scapulars - on this bird the flanks show the vinous pink colour typical o male American Wigeon.  Joern has pointed out that both can show a different head pattern, with a pale front.



Gadwall Anas strepera
American Wigeon Anas americana

American Wigeon x Green-winged Teal

American Wigeon x Green-winged Teal, Walden Ponds, Boulder County (Colorado, USA), 29th March 2011 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1437)

Steve tells us that this rather beautiful hybrid was in between Cinnamon Teal and American Wigeon in size and apparently paired with a female American Wigeon.  The bill is intermediate in colour and shape between the two parent species.  It has an indistinct vertical stripe on the sides of the breast but this is buff where it would be white on a Green-winged Teal.  The difference between forhead and cheek colour is reminiscent of American x Eurasian Wigeon hybrids but the chestnut is supplied by the Green-winged Teal genes.  The way the green wraps around neck is consistent with American Wigeon.  The speculum is green with a buff anterior border and black posterior border.  What can be seen of wing coverts look mottled grey and whitish.  The tail is longer than that of Green-winged Teal.

American Wigeon x Green-winged Teal, Walden Ponds, Boulder County (Colorado, USA), 29th March 2011 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1432-1436)

American Wigeon Anas americana
Green-winged Teal Anas (crecca) carolinensis

American Wigeon x Mallard

American Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, San Antonio (Texas, USA), 30th January 2016 - copyright Patty Bruno

(photo ID: 2733)

The first bird featured here is rather different from the dark-headed and more Mallard-like birds that make up the majority of birds on this page, but it seems to be a regular type for this hybrid.  The pale cheeks represent Wigeon influence but the breast is very Mallard.  The length of the tail may reflect American Wigeon but the curve in the central feathers is inherited from Mallard.  The bill is more Wigeon-like, and notice how there is a pinkish hint to it.  This seems to be a common feature in many Wigeon hybrids (not just American Wigeon) when neither parent has a pinkish bill.

The Mallard influence in the next bird is pretty obvious, though the depth of colour in the breast is less than in many Mallard x Wigeon hybrids.  The partly-curled central tail coverts are typical of Mallard hybrids. The wing-coverts (especially the median & greaters) look quite whitish which suggests a Wigeon species rather than e.g. a Teal, although they are not as white as in some examples of this hybrid.  The vinous brown tones on the scapulars and to a slight extent on the flanks suggest American Wigeon over Eurasian Wigeon, but of course that is to be expected anyway given the location.

 American Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Aurora (Colorado, USA), 24th February 2016 - copyright Kenyon Moon

(photo IDs: 2721-2727)

The next bird is more like Patty's at the top of this page:

American Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Prospect, near Denver (Colorado, USA), 26th January 2007 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 2218)

Here is another darker-headed bird:

 American Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Columbia River, near Maryhill (Washington, USA), 14th December 2008 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 2216-2217)

This bird is more Mallard-like than these hybrids usually are, which is perhaps best explained by it being a backcross.

probable (American Wigeon x Mallard) x Mallard backcrossed hybrid, near Kersey, Weld County (Colorado, USA), 19th February 2014 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1520-1521)

American Wigeon Anas americana
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Lahti (Finland), 1st June 2007 - copyright Henry Lehto

(photo ID: 2490)

Henry says the green gloss on the head seemed to vary by light conditions - more so than is shown in his excellent photos.  He also notes that the secondary coverts were white as in Eurasian Wigeon, which he says is a common feature in Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrids he has seen.

 Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 2490 above; with Eurasian Wigeon), Lahti (Finland), 1st June 2007 - copyright Henry Lehto

(photo IDs: 2491-2494)

Joern's plate below shows three examples giving just some of the variation in head pattern that is seen in this hybrid.

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrids - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(illus. ID: 0726)

Henry's bird above is closest to the bottom bird in Joern's illustration, though not quite as purely green-headed.  His next one though is more like Joern's top bird.  There are three sets of photos from winters 2008/09, 2007/08 and 2004/05, likely involving the same returning bird (though Henry says that in the most recent winter it showed a shorter tail and a little brown in the flanks).  Henry remarks that this bird behaved like a Wigeon.

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Helsinki (Finland), 13th March 2008 - copyright Henry Lehto

(photo IDs: 2473-2478)

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Helsinki (Finland), 13th March 2008 - copyright Henry Lehto

(photo IDs: 2462-2467)

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid (with Mallards), Helsinki (Finland), 25th February 2005 - copyright Henry Lehto

(photo IDs: 2468-2472)

Henry's brother Harry Lehto also photographed this bird (here) and notes almost non-stop Wigeon-like surface feeding and aggresiveness both towards and from drake Mallards.

The next bird was discovered by Mike Buckland and each time I've been along to have a look it's been quite easy to find among a flock of Eurasian Wigeon.

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid (with Eurasian Wigeon), Stiffkey (Norfolk, UK), 27th November 2016 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2848-2855)

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid (with Eurasian Wigeon; same bird as in photo IDs 2848-2855 above), Stiffkey (Norfolk, UK), 18th December 2016 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2856-2858)

Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrid (with Eurasian Wigeon; same bird as in photo IDs 2848-2858 above), Stiffkey (Norfolk, UK), 2nd January 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2859-2862)

Joern has written about Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard 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 couple of photos of Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrids.  You can access the PDF of Aves 2 (2011) - the article starts on page 21 with section 3 on this hybrid beginning at page 22.  The photos labelled Abb. 6 and Abb. 7 are Eurasian Wigeon x Mallard hybrids.



Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos