COMMON GOLDENEYE X HOODED MERGANSER HYBRID IN WABASHA COUNTY

摘要

On 24 December 2022, I spotted an apparent hybrid Common Goldeneye X Hooded Merganser on the Mississippi River in Wabasha County. This was an adult male associating with a large group of Common Goldeneyes. It was intermediate in size and shape between Hooded Merganser and Common Goldeneye. It had a large, solid blackish head with green iridescence. The bill was much slimmer than a goldeneye's, but more stout than a Hooded Merganser's. White breast with thin black "spurs" angling downward (anterior to the wings). Black back and tail, with silverytan sides. Whitish markings on the scapulars, coverts and tertials. Hybrids typically show greater individual variation than genetically "pure" individuals. This uniqueness makes it possible to identify specific individuals fairly readily. This particular bird looked very much like a male I observed on the river near Minneiska on the Wabasha/Winona county line in February and December of 2020. Over the past few years, I've identified at least three different male "Hoodeyes" along the Mississippi during the fall and winter seasons.