Tweets,
Went out to see the bird today and got about a half a role of film back
tonight, ain't One hr. Photo grand ;)! The bird in my opinion is more
likely a female Tufted Duck x Ring-necked Duck Hybrid. Here is the
description:
Head similar to a female Tufted Duck, yet it contains a small eye ring and
a very faint line extending back from the eye. The face contains a white
patch at the base of the bill and a small buffy patch behind the eye. The
bill is a grayish blue, with not only the black tip but a white ring on
the bill. There is a small tuft in the back of the head.
The body is dark, including the breast resembling either a female scaup or
female Tufted Duck. The wind contains white secondaries and white out to
either the third or fourth primary from the end.
Upon arriving the duck was associating with a male Ring-necked Duck. One
possible explanation for this bird could be that some people have said
there is a small pond just down the road that contains some exotic ducks
including a male Tufted Duck (or has contained one in the past). If the
male Tufted mated with a female Ring-necked I could see that pairing
resulting in the features I've described here, if people have other
opinions since my experience with Tufted Duck is very limited, I would
love to hear those arguements.

Thanks,
Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA



On Tue, 3 Mar 1998, gtoffic wrote:

> Recently Hal Opperman asked if anyone had good photos of the female tufted
> duck or tufted duck hybrid along Lowell-Larimer Road. I don't have any
> photos because I don't have a camera, but the bird is still there. I saw
> her yesterday. The location, if anyone wants to see this bird up close, is
> a tiny farm pond just South of the Everett city limits along Lowell-Larimer
> Road. It's next to a red barn. Steve Mlodinow had reported this bird as a
> hybrid, but to me it looks like a nearly normal female tufted duck. The
> bird, however, has a bill that more closely resembles illustrations of a
> male's bill. Also, it has a white patch at the base of the bill. This
> patch is similar to that of a lesser scaup female, but more diffuse, less
> concentrated. (I checked out lesser scaups for comparison at Everett
> Sewerage ponds immediately after having seen the tufted type duck.) The
> pond is not far from I-5. Lowell-Larimer begins at the 41st Ave. exit S.
> of Everett.
>
>
>
> Greg
>
> Greg Toffic
> Curator of Birds
> Woodland Park Zoo "Black holes are where God
> 5500 Phinney Avenue N. divided by zero."
> Seattle, WA 98103
> (206) 684-4836 (Ph)
> (206)233-7278 (FAX)
>