N. Pintail x GW Teal hybrid in DC
Janni, Ottavio (OTTAVIOJ@IADB.ORG)
Mon, 2 Nov 1998 10:51:03 -0500
I had an apparent N. Pintail X Green-winged Teal hybrid (male) at the mouth
of Four Mile Run, DC yesterday Nov. 1. It was in a large flock (300-400) of
dabbling ducks, mostly Mallards and Black Ducks but including a few Pintail,
GW Teal, and 2 Redheads. I left my notes at home but here is a brief
description from memory:
Size smaller than Mallard, substantially bigger than GW Teal. Size was
close to Pintail or slightly smaller though I never compared the two side by
side. The overall impression was of a N. Pintail-like body (lacking the
long tail) with a somewhat Green-winged Teal-like head, and at first I
wondered whether it was a Pintail motling out of eclipse plumage and looking
odd. The bird had black undertail coverts bordered by a cream-colored patch
blending into the pale gray flanks (Pintail-like pattern), the wings and
upperparts were rather uniform grayish brown, though detail was difficult to
see due to distance (300-400+ meters). Head and neck shape were unlike
Pintail, the neck was rather thick and the bird lacked Pintail's steep
forehead. The exact face pattern was hard to discern due to distance: the
overall color of the head and neck were a dull rusty-cinnamon, similar to
the color of a GW Teal's head though more washed out. The bird had a hint
of N. Pintail's white stripe running up the neck, though the stripe was ill
defined and cream-colored. There was a rather thick, ill defined dark line
behind the eye and down the neck, which in good light could be seen to
reflect a dull, dark green (hint of GW Teal face pattern), and an
additional, thinner and less conspicous dark line running below the eye then
curving out towards the throad (the pattern of dark/green on the face was
thus vaguely reminiscent of Baikal Teal).
I think the combination of features strongly points towards Pintail X GW
Teal, and I know this combination has been recorded before, though I don't
know how often. There was a book on waterfowl hybrids published one or two
years ago, I don't have access to it but if anyone does I'd love to know
what it says about Pintail X GW Teal and similar hybrids.
Thanks,
Ottavio Janni
ottavioj@iadb.org