Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Port Susan Bay, Snohomish County (Washington, USA), 9th May 2008 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1534)

Steve informs us that this hybrid is one of the commoner hybrid ducks in western North America.  I guess that this may have something to do with the facts that (a) the two species are closely related so more likely to produce hybrids and (b) the males are sufficiently distinct that any hybrid male is relatively easy to detect.

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 1534, above; with Blue-winged Teals), Port Susan Bay, Snohomish County (Washington, USA), 9th May 2008 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1535)

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid (with Cinnamon Teal), Port Susan Bay, Snohomish County (Washington, USA), 9th May 2010 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1536-1537)

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Weld County Rd 59 Ponds, Weld County (Colorado, USA), 4th May 2013 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1172-1173)

The next one was apparently very aggressive, chasing every male Blue-winged Teal that came within 10 feet of it, as you can see in the lower photo.

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Jackson State Park, Morgan County (Colorado, USA), 18th May 2014 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1583-1586)

Another quite typical example here.  The Cinnamon Teal heritage is fairly obvious; Blue-winged Teal given away by the colour in the head and the spots on the sides of the breast.

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Smith Ranch, San Rafael (California, USA), 24th October 2014 - copyright Len Blumin

(photo IDs: 2925-2926)

This tame bird undoubtedly originated in captivity (Blue-winged Teal is a very rare vagrant in the UK and Cinnamon Teal hasn't been accepted as occurring here naturally, though it probably has; both parent species are popular in captivity).  It has been displaying vigourously, sometimes on its own, sometimes with Mallards but most often to a female Mandarin.

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Rollesby Broad (Norfolk, UK), 14th April 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 3207-3212)

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid (same bird as in photo IDs 3207-3212 above), Rollesby Broad (Norfolk, UK), 22nd April 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 3213-3215)

Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera