Subject: [Tweeters] Green lake Hybrid Wigeon
Date: Dec 15 21:07:40 2008
From: Francis Wood - fbwood at u.washington.edu


Hello Tweeters,
Reading the below note from Richard Carlson reminded me of the
moment a few winters ago at the Sayers Pits area on Lake Washington where I
was watching a Eurasian Wigeon male in unusual bright winter sunlight.
There was nothing abnormal until he turned his head to reflect the sunlight
and the iridescent green patch behind the eye flashed clearly. I wondered
about a hybrid, and returned home to check my library.
In the 1988 book "Waterfowl- An identification guide to the ducks,
geese and swans of the world" by British/European based author, Steve Madge,
and illustrator Hilary Burn, the breeding Eurasian Wigeon male is noted (pg.
196) as having "Usually a small green patch behind the eye." Since green
colors on most species (besides parrots) is iridescence, not pigment, the
green, as on the male mallard's head, depends a lot on the lighting. The
bright sun in the morning over the last couple of days may have made the
green easier to see on both the Eurasian and American Wigeon species. This
may make hybrid males harder to identify.
Happy sorting, and happy holiday birding,
Fran Wood (male)
Seattle (Madrona)
fbwood at u.washington.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: rccarl at pacbell.net [mailto:rccarl at pacbell.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 3:58 PM
To: tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Green lake Hybrid Wigeon

We had very close (10 ft) looks at two male apparent Eurasian Wigeon
yesterday. They were definitely hybrids. Heads are mostly reddish orange
but lots of green by the eye.

RCC

Richard Carlson
Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian
Part-time Economist
Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA
rccarl at pacbell.net
Tucson 520-760-4935
Tahoe 530-581-0624
Kirkland 425-828-3819
Cell 650-280-2965



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