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

Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup

captive probable Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 1st December 2012 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 0432)

I have seen this bird on a number of occasions and have struggled with its ID.  When I first saw it it was with a Ferruginous Duck and a Greater Scaup and I suspected that it could be a hybrid between these two species, showing rich mahogany tones to the plumage which could come from Ferruginous Duck (but are not so strong to be certainly so) and a white patch round the bill suggestive of Scaup.  I've come up with various other ideas in the meantime but, with some help from Joern who has always favoured that ID, I am now back where I started.  The bird is bulky and broad-bodied - for a while that made me wonder if a Netta species could be involved (Rosy-billed Pochard have been kept there) but this is probably more likely to have come from Greater Scaup.

captive probable Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 0432 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 1st December 2012 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0433-0436)

captive probable Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (presumably same bird as in photo IDs 0432-0436 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 4th December 2010 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0437-0439)

captive probable Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (presumably same bird as in photo IDs 0432-0439 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 12th February 2011 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0440-0441)

captive probable Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (presumably same bird as in photo IDs 0432-0441 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 12th March 2011 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0442-0446)

captive probable Ferruginous Duck x Greater Scaup hybrid (presumably same bird as in photo IDs 0432-0446 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 24th November 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 0447)

Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca
Greater Scaup Aythya marila

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (with Tufted Duck), Earlswood Lakes (Warwickshire, UK), 1st March 2016 - copyright John Oates

(photo ID: 2738)

All of the examples of this hybrid that I have seen, either in life or in photos, have been reasonably similar to each other.  As noted at the bottom of this page, there may be another type appearing more like Ferruginous Duck, and photos of such a bird would be very welcome.  The majority seem to show distinct mahogany tones on the breast (especially at the sides) and on the crown, though these tones can be hard to detect in some light conditions.  The flanks are sullied buffy-grey showing a narrow pale upper border below the darker wings and scapulars.  They show a short tuft, appearing more lumpy and less wispy than on a Tufted Duck.  John's photos of the first bird featured here show a green head sheen, and this has been visible on some of mine too.  At first this may seem unexpected given that Tufted Duck typically shows a purply head sheen (though can look green) but head sheen is one of those features that is not necessarily matching either parent or intermediate, and Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Ducks also seem to show a green head sheen.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 2738 above), Earlswood Lakes (Warwickshire, UK), 1st March 2016 - copyright John Oates

(photo IDs: 2739-2740)

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 24th December 2011 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0448-0450)

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (presumably the same bird as in photo IDs 0448-0450 above), Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 12th November 2011 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0451-0452)

The next bird was at a site that attracts large numbers of ducks that have been released nearby for shooting. Although wild birds appear here too, a disproportionate number of hybrids have been encountered at the site and many of these are presumably among those that have been released.  The origin of this bird is unknown but in view of the circumstances should not be assumed to be of wild origin.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 24th December 2011 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0453-0456)

The next birds are also of uncertain, but dubious, provenance. There were three of them on a small pond adjacent to a restaurant and the only other ducks on the pond were two Shelduck x Wood Duck hybrids and another unidentified dabbling duck hybrid, the parents of which were not species naturally occurring in the UK. Whether they belong there, escaped from a nearby collection or were released there deliberately is not known, at least not by me.

The drake resembled the birds shown above and it was not immediately clear if the two female birds with it were hybrids as well or if they were pure Tufted Ducks.  The overall body colouration was rather warm and reddish but not so much so that they couldn't be pure Tufted Ducks. However the photos confirm that the tuft structure was similar to that of the drake hybrids and one bird at least shows pure white under the tail. Perhaps their identification should not be regarded as proven, but I'm reasonably sure they were all hybrids.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids (male and 2 presumed female hybrids), River House Restaurant, Stirling (Stirlingshire, UK), 29th December 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0457-0466)

Although the next bird was close to a wildfowl collection it wasn't, and had never been, part of that collection and may therefore be a bird hatched in the wild.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, Blakeney (Norfolk, UK), 16th May 2016 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2838-2839)

The next two drakes were associating closely with one another and more loosely with a small flock of Tufted Ducks.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, Blakeney (Norfolk, UK), 14th February 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 3038-3043)

Joern Lehmhus has written about Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck 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 Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids.  You can access the PDF of Aves 3 (2012) - the article starts on page 32 with section 4 on this hybrid beginning at page 37 - the four photos captioned "Reiherente x Moorente" are Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids.


All of the males of this hybrid that we have seen here so far have had pale browish flanks and a dark head with reddish colour pretty much restricted to the crown.  The new Helm guide "Wildfowl of Europe, Asia and North America" by Sébastien Reeber (2015) shows a second more Ferruginous Duck-like type with darker reddier brown flanks (though still contrastingly paler than the breast and upperparts) and a fully reddish-brown head.


Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula