Eurasian x American Wigeon Hybrid

Eurasian x American Wigeon hybrid, Wilcox, Cochise County

Eurasian Wigeons are casual to rare in Arizona. Birders may be challenged when they see a molting genuine Eurasian Wigeon that doesn't look like field guide depictions or, in cases like this, when a hybrid possesses enough features of Eurasian Wigeon to be misidentified. This male hybrid has fooled many a birder in the eight winters it has spent at Willcox, AZ. Attention to flank and breast color and the pattern on the head should help you avoid error.

12 February 2006 photo by Oliver Neihuis