Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid

Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca x Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula hybrid

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (with Tufted Duck), Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 24th December 2011

The green sides of the head might be unexpected in this hybrid given that neither parent species normally shows a green sheen on the head (although it can look green on Tufted Duck depending on the light). However head sheen colour on hybrid Aythya ducks is not necessarily intermediate between the two parents, for example Ring-necked Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids typically show a strong green sheen despite both parent species showing a purple sheen. It seems that in good light, Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck usually shows a green sheen, contrasting with the reddish crown. These colours can be impossible to discern in poor light however.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, Blakeney fresh marsh (Norfolk, UK), 16th May 2016

There were six ducks on this small pond and all of them were hybrids. These included Wood Duck x Common Shelduck hybrids and another unidentified hybrid involving a species that does not occur naturally in the UK, so we can be sure that at least some of them must have had a background in captivity. Whether they were "kept" here or whether they escaped from a nearby collection, or whether they were deliberately released here I am not certain, but I suspect they were released. Many keepers of wildfowl do not want hybrids in their collections and dispose of them - perhaps this one didn't want to do so lethally?

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, River House (Stirling, UK), 29th December 2013

The above male was straightforward to identify but it was accompanied by two females. The overall body colouration was rather warm and reddish but not so much so that they couldn't be pure Tufted Ducks. However the tuft structure was similar to that of the drake hybrids and one bird at least shows pure white under the tail. Perhaps their identification should not be regarded as proven, but I'm reasonably sure that these two were also hybrids.

2x Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids, River House (Stirling, UK), 29th December 2013

This site has attracted this hybrid on a number of occasions. I am not clear whether or not all of the records relate to the same two birds.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrids, Felbrigg (Norfolk, UK), 14th February 2017

This was in a wildfowl collection and the Ferruginous Duck it was accompanying was certainly part of the collection. I think wild Tufted Ducks drop in regularly and so it's not clear whether the hybrid originated in the collection or not. This one is very Tufted Duck like - in fact I'm not 100% convinced it is a hybrid. However the tuft is rather short and the colour of the crown seems to be reddish, contrasting with the rest of the head.

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (with captive Ferruginous Duck), Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 15th January 2022

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid (with Tufted Duck), Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 11th February 2012

Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck hybrid, Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 12th November 2011

For comparison, here are photos of the parent species.

Ferruginous Duck, Guist Common (Norfolk, UK), 28th October 2023 and Tufted Duck, Welney (Norfolk, UK), 24th February 2017

For more photos of these species follow the links below: