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Ituri

Green-wing Teal x Northern Pintail

Green-wing Teal x Northern Pintail
Ituri, 19 May 2011
UngulateNerd92 likes this.
    • Ituri
      Green-wing Teal (Anas carolinensis)
    • FBBird
      Green-wing Teal

      This is actually a hybrid, Green-winged Teal X Pintail. The body and tail plumage clearly show Pintail patterning, and the 'bridled' head pattern [found only in the Baikal Teal as a pure species] is I believe common to all Green-winged [American or European 'Common ' Teal] hybrids. It has been suggested that this is a reversion to an ancestral face pattern. In the
      19th century, Teal x [European] Wigeon hybrids were regarded as a species, the Bimaculated Duck. I have seen this pattern emerge in a female Red-crested Pochard x Mallard, which changed from normal female plumage to what looked like a partial male plumage, showing the bridled marking. This suggests that the Mallard also carries this pattern in recessive form, and can transmit it to hybrid offspring. [Incidentally, the male RCP X Mallard never shows the bridled pattern, in either nuptial or eclipse plumage.
    • Ituri
      Interesting to know, thanks. I was purely going off the exhibit sign in my ID.
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    Ituri
    Date:
    19 May 2011
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