Hi Chris,
I dare to use the H-word! Yes, this is clearly a hybrid. It is too big to be an
aberrant Grey Teal. Biased by the place the most logical thought would be Grey
Teal x Hardhead hybrid. However, bill shape and bill colour make me think that
one parent could be a Northern Pintail. The overall colour including the paler
cheek makes me think Chestnut Teal as the other parent. But this is highly
speculative and includes two vagrants to the area! Often the offspring of two
duck species can look more similar to a third species than to its parents. So
it is hard to tell.
Cheers,
Nikolas
----------------
Nikolas Haass
Sydney, NSW
________________________________
From: Christopher Watson <>
To:
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2012 12:12 AM
Subject: Pine Creek (NT) - unusual teal
G'day all,
I've got one of those ID problems that makes you shudder at the thought of
it; either I'm missing something really simple and I'm about to make a
colossal a**e of myself, or it is a genuinely interesting bird that might
be worth a second thought.
Either way, I've agonised over it for a while and decided to just bite the
bullet. It's better to ask and be dismissed and derided than to miss the
opportunity of discussing an interesting bird.
At Pine Creek the other day (where there is, by the way, an apparently
resident Little Kingfisher at the ornamental water park in the centre of
town - unusual by itself), I found this confusing duck at the sewage ponds.
I've put some pictures on the blog, and provided my early thoughts, but the
more I think about it, the more I become confused. So I place myself in
your hands - what is this bird?
http://comebirdwatching.blogspot.com.au/p/id-help.html
Cheers,
Chris Watson
--
*BIRDS CENTRAL*
*Central Australian birding resource*
*Guiding, writing, and site information*
*from Alice Springs*
www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com
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