ML387558081

Observation details

Female with short tuft. See photos. I've seen two hybrids (Tufted Duck x scaup) over the past two years, so I studied my photos to make sure it wasn't a hybrid. The flanks are brown, whereas a hybrid would have grayish flanks. The back is solid dark brown, darker than the flanks, whereas a hybrid's back would be lighter, with grayish barring. UPDATE: I have been informed that the part about a hybrid's back having grayish barring only applies to males. The way to identify female hybrids is to look for traits of both species. This one seems to be pure. Other Tufted Duck features seen on this bird are white undertail coverts and an S-shaped border between the dark upperparts and the flanks.