Regarding wigeon pairing, I too have looked at the pairs which are formed in sp
ring in the downtown Portland area. Most Eurasians are unpaired, a few have ma
tes which appear to be Eurasian females, and most Americans are paired with (pr
esumably) female Americans. I've been looking for a cross-pairing but have not
found it yet that I was aware of. How often does hybridism occur in these two
species? What prevents it? How many real hybrids are around? Some people do
wn here call male Eurasians with greenish on the sides of the head hybrids, but
I believe this is incorrect. Rather, greenish cast on the side of the reddish
head represents a normal variant plumage for Eurasian. Responses?
bob obrien