Tweets - I am forwarding this note from Dick Cannings. Exotics are always
interesting. Now we have potential hybrid exotics, too!

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Dear Birders:

The strange duck at the SS Sicamous in Penticton, BC was well seen and
photographed by many observers yesterday, but identification still eludes
us. We strongly suspect a mixed parentage situation and a captive origin.

The bird resembles a Silver Teal (suggested by Jack Bowling a couple of
days ago), a species from South America, in that it has a silver bill with
black stripe down culmen and buffy pink base, a dark cap extending down to
include the eye, and is slightly larger than a female Wood Duck in size.
Points against Silver Teal are its finely vermiculated grey sides and a
narrow but distinct dark dusky bar through a buffy face, down from just
behind the eye. The buffy brown rear end of the duck is a problem as well.
The dark cap has a bluish green gloss in good light and is swept back to
the nape, ending in a sort of bobbed-off crest. Hottentot Teal was
originally considered, but the bird is too large and the dusky bar through
the face is entirely the wrong shape.

The bird follows a female Wood Duck faithfully, which suggests to me that
it either escaped with the Wood Duck from a captive situation, or is just
plain confused about its own identity, as we all are. Any further comments
or suggestions are welcome, I suppose our best guess so far is a Baikal X
Silver Teal hybrid; the Baikal genes would account for the finely
vermiculated grey sides and vertical bar through the face.

Cheers,

Dick Cannings

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- Jack

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Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jbowling at direct.ca