Birders,

The TUFTED DUCK found yesterday near Lost Lagoon in Vancouver's
Stanley Park, which I reported on the Vancouver RBA, has been re-
identified as a hybrid TUFTED DUCK X SCAUP.

In mid-afternoon today, I went to Stanley Park to look for the bird. I
was joined shortly by Peter Candido and George Clulow. The three of us
had point-blank looks at the bird, together with a male and female
GREATER SCAUP, as it swam and dived almost beneath the stone bridge at
the west end of Lost Lagoon (very close to where it was seen
yesterday).

I am going to stick my neck out and say that this bird was probably a
hybrid TUFTED DUCK x GREATER SCAUP. After prolonged study no more than
4 metres away, the following points were evident:

(1) The tuft was much, much shorter than expected in a pure Tufted
Duck.

(2) The back was a fairly dark gray, but NOT black. If one looked
closely, black feather-tips, or "vermiculations" could be seen against
the gray background. The flanks were almost pure white.

(3) Head shape very rounded, almost identical to that of Greater
Scaup, with no hint of the "peaked" head shape of Lesser Scaup.

(4) Despite poor light (low clouds, steady rain), the iridescence on
the head could be clearly seen. The iridescence appeared purplish on
top of the head, but distinctly greenish on the sides of the head.
Both Tufted Ducks and Lesser Scaup normally show purplish iridescence,
so I consider greenish iridescence to be an indication of Greater
Scaup ancestry.

So far, this bird has not been photographed, but if it stays in the
area and is as unafraid as it was today, it should be easy to get
photos.

I suspect that this may be the same Tufted Duck hybrid as the one
which was seen in April 2004 in Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, less
than 4 km as the Tufted Duck flies from Lost Lagoon.

Thanks to Cathy Aitchison for initially reporting this bird, and for
phoning many birders to let them know about it. However, this should
be a heads-up for all of us. If you think you have a TUFTED DUCK, look
more carefully to see whether or not it might be a hybrid. It seems
that Tufted Duck X scaup hybrids are becoming more and more frequent
in North America in recent years; there is at least one report of a
hybrid for every 4 or 5 reports of a pure Tufted Duck.

Good luck and good birding,

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net