Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrid

Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha x Mallard Anas platyrhynchos hybrid

For the first example shown here the Mallard influence is obvious - green on the head, reddish brown breast, almost entirely yellow bill, curly tail, dark uppertail coverts, etc. The pale cheeks and female-like markings on the body are not dissimilar to several Mallard hybrids but the detail of the mantle and flank markings is consistent with Indian Spot-billed Duck and the pale white-tipped tertials also make sense given Indian Spot-billed Ducks' white tertials. The fact that other Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrids have been in the collection recently helps.

captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrid, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 22nd February 2014

The next one had less green on the head but was otherwise fairly similar.

captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrid, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 22nd February 2014

The next was much more like pure Spot-billed Duck and may perhaps be backcrossed? It has a little too much yellow on the bill for a pure Indian Spot-billed Duck and black uppertail coverts with slightly curled long central feathers.

second captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrid, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 22nd February 2014

One of the two birds in the next photo may well be the same individual as the one above. The second bird is presumably a female and much harder to be sure whether it is a pure bird or a hybrid (but I suspect it is a hybrid).

captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrids, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 16th April 2011

This wildfowl collection was destroyed during a storm surge in December 2013, the entire area being covered by several metres of seawater. A handful of birds remained there for a short while (a couple of the birds above were still there in February 2014) but not for much longer. In autumn 2015 the collection was re-stocked and two birds were so similar in appearance to the birds seen before and immediately after the storm surge I wonder if they had been temporarily removed and kept elsewhere before being returned (although the majority of the birds in the collection were clearly new birds). Firstly the bird where the influence of both species is obvious:

captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrid, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015

Secondly the bird which was more like a pure Indian Spot-billed Duck, but note, for example, the extent of yellow on the bill:

second captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrid, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015

Also present in the collection now was this bird. When I first saw it in October I wasn't sure if it wasn't just a young male Mallard showing remnants of juvenile plumage and bare parts. But six weeks later its plumage had not changed substantially, so I concluded that it was a hybrid, probably backcrossed with Mallard.

third captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrids, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015

Here is the same bird in October.

same captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrids, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 30th October 2015

Here is another or one of the same birds that has obvious elements of both parent species.

captive Indian Spot-billed Duck x Mallard hybrids, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 18th January 2017

For comparison, here are photos of the parent species.

captive Indian Spot-billed Duck, Blakeney Quayside collection (Norfolk, UK), 28th February 2009 and Mallard, Seahouses (Northumberland, UK), 5th February 2023

For more photos of these species follow the links below: