Bird Hybrids: Anas poecilorhyncha

Monday, 14 April 2014

Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 22nd February 2014 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 1565)

For the first example shown here the Mallard influence is obvious - green on the head, reddish brown breast, almost entirely yellow bill, curly tail, dark uppertail coverts, etc. The pale cheeks and female-like markings on the body are not dissimilar to several Mallard hybrids but the detail of the mantle and flank markings is consistent with Spot-billed Duck and the pale white-tipped tertials also make sense given Spot-billed Ducks' white tertials. The fact that other Mallard x Spot-billed Duck hybrids have been in the collection recently helps.

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 1564 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 22nd February 2014 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 1564)

The next one had less green on the head but was otherwise fairly similar.

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 24th November 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0367-0368)

The next was much more like pure Spot-billed Duck and may perhaps be backcrossed? It has a little too much yellow on the bill for a pure Spot-billed Duck and black uppertail coverts with slightly curled long central feathers.

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 24th November 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 0366)

One of the two birds in the next photo may well be the same individual as the one above (photo ID 0366). The second bird is presumably a female and much harder to be sure whether it is a pure bird or a hybrid (but I suspect it is a hybrid).

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrids, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 16th April 2011 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0369-0372)

This wildfowl collection was destroyed during a storm surge in December 2013, the entire area being covered by several metres of seawater. A handful of birds remained there for a short while (a couple of the birds above were still there in February 2014) but not for much longer. In autumn 2015 the collection was re-stocked and two birds were so similar in appearance to the birds seen before and immediately after the storm surge I wonder if they had been temporarily removed and kept elsewhere before being returned (although the majority of the birds in the collection were clearly new birds). Firstly the bird where the influence of both species is obvious:

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2384-2389)

Secondly the bird which was more like a pure Spotbill, but note, for example, the extent of yellow on the bill.

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid (possibly backcrossed with Indian Spot-billed Duck), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2390-2392)

Also present in the collection now was this bird. When I first saw it in October I wasn't sure if it wasn't just a young male Mallard showing remnants of juvenile plumage and bare parts. But six weeks later its plumage had not changed substantially, so I concluded that it was a hybrid, probably backcrossed with Mallard.

captive presumed (Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck) x Mallard backcrossed hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 30th October 2015 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2393-2395)

captive presumed (Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck) x Mallard backcrossed hybrid (assumed to be same bird as in photo IDs 2393-2395 above), Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2396-2397)

captive Mallard x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 18th January 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2843-2844)

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha

Friday, 11 April 2014

Yellow-billed Duck x Spot-billed Duck

Yellow-billed Duck x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Hannover Zoo (Germany), 24th October 2012 - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(photo ID: 0587)

Here's Joern's commentary on this bird:

At a first glance, this bird looks close to a Yellowbill, but there are some differences. Yellowbill does not show any facial pattern, but this bird has a weak facial pattern. Indian Spotbill on the other hand has a marked facial pattern. The uppertail coverts are all black in this hybrid, similar to a Spotbill. Yellowbill would have pale fringed uppertail coverts.

Note the orange legs of this hybrid, with some dark areas on the toes. Indian Spotbill has bright orange legs. Yellowbill legs are dark brownish or blackish with an orange hue, but not bright orange as in this hybrid.

The speculum looks a bit closer to Yellowbill, being too blue for Indian Spotbill, but the white line in font is broader than normal and the white line ending the speculum is fairly thin. This also seems to indicate Spotbill influence; see the speculum of Indian Spotbill here:

arunachalabirds.blogspot.de/2011/05/indian-spot-billed-du...
The bill pattern is close to Yellowbill, but the upper edge of the upper mandible is yellow-orange, not yellow. This also points to Indian Spotbill as the second parent, as this has a red upper edge of the upper mandible and a yellow tip on a mainly black bill. The tertials of the hybrid are again closer to Yellowbill in colour and pattern, as they are partly white in Indian Spotbill.

There were two very similar free-flying hybrids so it is not certain whether the photos involve one or both birds.

Yellow-billed Duck x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid, Hannover Zoo (Germany), 24th October 2012 - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(photo IDs: 0585-0586)

In the next photo the hybrid is on the left side in the middle ground; in the foreground left is a Yellow-billed Duck and on the right are Indian Spot-billed Duck and Red-crested Pochard.

Yellow-billed Duck x Indian Spot-billed Duck hybrid (with Mallards, Yellow-billed Duck, Indian Spot-billed Duck and Red-crested Pochard), Hannover Zoo (Germany), 24th October 2012 - copyright Joern Lehmhus
(photo ID: 0584)

A pair of similar birds were present in the zoo (but free-flying) in 2014. Here is the female: