Bird Hybrids: Yellow-billed Pintail

Showing posts with label Yellow-billed Pintail. Show all posts

Friday, 18 April 2014

White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed (Speckled) Teal

captive White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed Teal hybrid, Halle (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), 5th October 2014 - copyright Joern Lehmus

(photo ID: 1662)

I think the ranges of the two species involved here do overlap so I suppose wild hybrids are theoretically possible, but both species are frequently found in captivity where hybrids like this are much more likely to be encountered. Here is one such example.

captive White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed Teal hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 1662 above), Halle (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), 5th October 2014 - copyright Joern Lehmus

(photo IDs: 1663-1664)

I imagine the next photos show the same bird - at least it's a similar bird at the same zoo.

captive White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed Teal hybrid, Halle Zoo (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), 21st September 2016 - copyright Joern Lehmus

(photo IDs: 2888-2891)

The only thing that's certain about the next hybrid is that we don't know what it is! It
superficially resembles Speckled Teal (i.e. Yellow-billed Teal or Andean Teal) but differs in a number of respects. Most of the differences could be explained by White-cheeked Pintail being a parent, although it shows one or two unexpected features for that hybrid. Both Yellow-billed Teal (not Andean) and White-cheeked Pintail were present in the collection.

However Joern has expressed some doubt about this ID and found another examples of Speckled Teal x White-cheeked Pintail hybrid which didn't look exactly like this (and subsequently he got photos to support this - see above), so another explanation may be needed. One suggestion is Yellow-billed Pintail x Andean Teal, but we are not sure at the moment. The leg colour is perhaps a little paler than would be expected for any combination of these species and perhaps the correct explanation lies in a combination we have not yet considered?

unidentified captive hybrid, possibly White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed Teal, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 24th November 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0338-0345)

unidentified captive hybrid, possibly White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed Teal, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 9th November 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0336-0337)

unidentified captive hybrid, possibly White-cheeked Pintail x Yellow-billed Teal, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0346-0347)

White-cheeked Pintail Anas bahamensis
Yellow-billed Pintail Anas georgica
Andean Teal Anas andium
Yellow-billed Teal Anas flavirostris

Thursday, 17 April 2014

Laysan Duck x Yellow-billed Pintail

possible Laysan Duck x Yellow-billed Pintail, River House Restaurant, Stirling (Stirlingshire, UK), 29th December 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 0382)

This is another one where the ID is far from certain. Another possibility, thanks to Joern, is Laysan Duck x Yellow-billed Teal (Speckled Teal). The leg colour, plumage markings and hint of slightly upturned central tail feathers are suggestive of one of the Mallard group (which includes Laysan Duck) and the small size and hint of a pale eye-ring are what made me think of Laysan Duck. That's by no means certain, which makes working out the second species even harder!

There were only six ducks on the pond and all of them were hybrids. I don't know how they got there - perhaps they're owned by the restaurant adjacent to the pond (but then why only hybrids?), or perhaps they were released there by a wildfowl keeper who doesn't like hybrids?

possible Laysan Duck x Yellow-billed Pintail (same as in photo ID 0382 above), River House Restaurant, Stirling (Stirlingshire, UK), 29th December 2013 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0378-0381)

Laysan Duck Anas laysanensis

Yellow-billed Pintail Anas georgica

Yellow-billed Teal Anas flavirostis

Mallard x Yellow-billed Pintail or Mallard x Yellow-billed (Speckled) Teal

Mallard x Yellow-billed Pintail hybrid or Mallard x Yellow-billed Teal hybrid, Magdeburg Zoo, 3rd March 2012 - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(photo ID: 0631)

That one parent of this bird is Mallard is fairy clear - Joern points to the orange legs, dark uppertail coverts, white outer tail feathers and the general shape of this bird. The other species involved is not so easy.

Joern analysis is that it should be a species without a pronounced breeding plumage and with a black and yellow bill. Additionally the second parent species must be smaller than Mallard, as this duck appears a bit smaller than a female Mallard and clearly smaller than a male Mallard. Therefore both Yellow-billed Pintail or Yellow-billed Teal (Speckled Teal) seem possible. Neither of these species were seen in the zoo and were not listed there but as the bird is not pinioned and unringed it may not come from the zoo. Instead it may have come from another source, like perhaps a private keeper who has released an unwanted hybrid or from where it has escaped accidentally.