Subject: Re: Possible Hybrid Bucephala at Dungeness, WA
Date: Mar 24 09:29:36 1997
From: "Bruce Moorhead " - bruceb at olypen.com


Someone who observed this bird might consider giving Arnold Schouten of
Port Angeles (452-3464) a call; he has a large collection of waterfowl from
all over, including Bucephala & related congeners, I believe. If it isn't
one of his, he may know about hybridism prospects, etc.

Bruce Moorhead
ph. 360/457-5196
Port Angeles, WA
(bruceb at olypen.com)

----------
> From: bboek at olympus.net
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Possible Hybrid Bucephala at Dungeness, WA
> Date: Sunday, March 23, 1997 1:52 PM
>
>
> The following is a description of a mystery small diving duck sighted
> 3/23/97, in Dungeness Bay, Dungeness, WA, offshore of the 3 Crabs
> Restaurant. This site is a shallow saltwater bay on the south side of
> the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates Vancouver Island from the
> Olympic Peninsula. The bird typically stayed 100-300 meters offshore,
> swimming with Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, Greater
> Scaups, and "Olympic Gulls" (as we locally call W. X Glaucous-winged
> hybrids).
>
> Sighted by Bob Boekelheide, Bob Norton, Jack and Pat Fletcher, Gene
> Kridler, Paul Conklin, and Ruth Merryman. Optics included various binos
> and spotting scopes, including 60X Questar. Light excellent, sunny with
> winds 10-15 knots.
>
> We observed the duck for close to two hours, from 10:30-12:15, as it dove

> repeatedly, preened, and interacted with other ducks also present
> (primarily C. Goldeneyes and Buffleheads).
>
> Description:
> Size: Slightly larger than Bufflehead, slightly smaller than C.
> Goldeneye, both present.
>
> General Jizz: Appeared much like a _Bucephala_, both in head and body
> shape, general coloration, and behavior.
>
> Head: The overall appearance was a striking white face outlined by a
> strip of glossy iridescent green over the top of the head. Sides of
> face, entire neck, and throat very white. Forehead, crown, and back of
> head dark iridescent green. The separation between the dark crown and
> white face led from the bill upwards past the front edge of the eye,
> around the edge of the crown, to the lower back of the head. The dark on

> the forehead and crown clearly just touched the leading and upper edge of

> the eye, but did not surround the eye. The dark also appeared to
> slightly surround the base of the lower mandible. The white face was
> much more extensive than the white on a male Bufflehead's face, somewhat
> reminiscent of the facial pattern of a basic plumage Kittlitz's Murrelet,

> as if outlining the outer edge of the face. This pattern was also
> slightly reminiscent of the dark pattern on the head of a female Smew,
> but the dark plumage was clearly iridescent green in color, like the
> green on a C. Goldeneye male's head. The dark pattern on the back of the

> head showed a slight v-shaped indentation into the white of the face,
> about the level of the ear coverts. The head shape was closest to C.
> Goldeneye, somewhat arched on top and not overtly rounded like a
> Bufflehead male's head. The forehead was about as steep as a male C.
> Goldeneye's forehead, not as steep as a Barrow's Goldeneye.
>
> Bill: All dark, depressed, fairly short and small, but proportional to
> the bird's head. The bill was much more the size and shape of the C.
> Goldeneyes' bills nearby, less like the Buffleheads'. The culmen was
> curved throughout, without any discernible humps or ceres.
>
> Eyes: Appeared dark, although we think we saw a hint of orange-red in the

> scales surrounding the eye or possibly in the iris itself. It was too
> far to see this character well. The eye was definitely not yellow or
> golden.
>
> Neck and upper breast: Pure white. Initially, we thought that the dark
> on the back of the head extended all the way to the dark on the back, but

> when the bird stretched its neck it showed that the dark on the back of
> the head stopped before reaching the back. The white on the sides of the

> neck consequently continued around to the lower back of the neck, like a
> C. Goldeneye.
>
> Breast and underparts: Pure white, with no markings. We saw the bird
> stretch out of the water a couple times; when it did, it appeared to be
> very slightly dingier on its belly, but still very white.
>
> Flanks: Very white, similar to male Buffleheads also present. A very
> thin black line extended along the edge of the upper wing coverts, also
> similar to a male Bufflehead.
>
> Back and wings: Dark black, extending all the way to the tail, similar to

> male Bufflehead. No discernable white markings in the wing coverts, as
> found on swimming male C. Goldeneyes present with the bird. The one time

> we briefly saw the bird flap its wings, it appeared to have a white,
> unbroken patch in the secondaries or secondary coverts.
>
> Rear end: The bird was dark below the tail behind the feet, to at least
> the water line, as found in male Goldeneyes.
>
> Tail: Dark and quite large. This showed especially when the bird dove,
> when it flared its tail. We commented several times that the tail was
> proportionately big enough for a stiff-tailed duck, but the bird held its

> tail up above the water only a couple times, very briefly.
>
> Feet: Orange, visible when the bird dove.
>
> Behavior: For most of our observation, the bird dove repeatedly,
> difficult to observe for longer than 5-15 seconds each time at the
> surface. Dives ranged from very short, disappearing for a few seconds,
> to upwards of one minute or more, similar to both the Buffleheads and
> Goldeneyes present. It also infrequently sat for a few minutes at the
> surface, either preening or interacting with other small ducks. It
> chased female C. Goldeneyes several times, chased a male Bufflehead at
> least once, and was chased by a male C. Goldeneye at least once. It also

> hunched its back and cocked its head back and forth several times, in a
> breeding display similar to that done by male C. Goldeneyes also present.
>
> Possible identification: We think this is a likely hybrid, possibly C.
> Goldeneye X Bufflehead or, more remotely, C. Goldeneye X Smew. The face
> pattern excludes all ducks we know, plus excludes all ducks found in a
> search of virtually all N.A. field guides and several international field

> guides (Bellrose's _Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America_, Madge and
> Burn's _Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese and Swans
> of the World_, and Scott's _Waterfowl of the World_). Common Goldeneye X

> Smew hybrid is mentioned in Cramp and Simmons (1977, _The Birds of the
> Western Palearctic_. Vol. 1, Oxford U. Press), which raises this
> possibility. The bird's head pattern vaguely suggests the placement of
> dark and light on the head of a female Smew, but this is a bit of a
> stretch.
>
> Does anyone have any input into the possible identification of this bird?

> Specifically, are there records of C. Goldeneye X Bufflehead hybrids,
> and what do they look like? How about Goldeneye X Smew hybrids? Might
> study skins exist that are similar to this description? Or could it be
> something else that we are overlooking?
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
> Bob Boekelheide and Bob Norton
> Sequim, WA
>
>