Blue-winged Teal x Northern Shoveler hybrid

Blue-winged Teal Spatula discors x Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata hybrid

Both species were formerly placed in the genus Anas.

This can be a naturally-occurring hybrid in both North America where both species are common and probably also in Europe where vagrant Blue-winged Teals often associate with Northern Shovelers.

The following individual was first seen by others in April 2000 but identified then as an escaped Australian Shoveler. That error was understandable as this hybrid does closely resemble that species (which occurred in captivity in north Norfolk at the time). John Kemp, who later discovered and correctly identified it in November 2000, described the differences in an article published in Birding World 13: 460-461. Structurally he noted that it was slightly less heavy and smaller-headed than both shoveler species, and with a shorter slimmer bill that was narrower in side profile with less of a 'grinning patch'. The eyes were dark, unlike Australian and Northern Shovelers which both have yellow eyes, and John described the legs as "rich yellow, not as orange as in Shoveler".

male Blue-winged Teal x Northern Shoveler hybrid, Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 7th April 2001

This female was in captivity. Also in the collection were single drakes of Cinnamon Teal and Blue-winged Teal. Apart from its bill this bird closely resembled Blue-winged Teal but when I looked at the photos after the first visit I thought the bill looked too spatulate. I considered whether it could instead be Cinnamon Teal, or a hybrid between the two species. The head pattern appears to rule out pure Cinnamon Teal and the colour on the bill seems wrong for either Blue-winged or Cinnamon Teal or, presumably, a hybrid between the two. Moreover I thought the bill was perhaps too spatulate even for Cinnamon Teal, so the most satisfactory explanation seemed to be Blue-winged Teal x Northern Shoveler.

captive female probable Blue-winged Teal x Northern Shoveler hybrid, Blakeney quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015

Subsequent views of what I took at the time to be the same bird several months later were less convincing, but I'm now wondering if they really were the same bird. They don't have as much pale on the bill and the bill didn't seem as long and obviously spatulate. In fact I can't now see any convincing reason why those observations didn't involve a pure Blue-winged Teal and have therefore included most of my photos on my page for Blue-winged Teal. Female hybrids are difficult to identify, but I suspect I was influenced by an assumption that I was seeing the same bird each visit when in fact that may not have been the case.

For comparison, here are photos of the parent species.

captive Blue-winged Teal, Blakeney quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 15th October 2016 and Northern Shoveler, Cley (Norfolk, UK), 1st June 2013

For more photos of these species follow the links below: