Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope x American Wigeon Mareca americana hybird (?)
Both species were formerly placed in the genus Anas.
With vagrant American Wigeons regularly turning up among Eurasian Wigeon flocks in Europe and east Asia, and with vagrant Eurasian Wigeons regularly turning up among American Wigeon flocks in North America, it's no surprise that hybrids between the two species are regularly identified in these continents.
The identity of the following bird is not certain. It was reported as either an American Wigeon or a hybrid but by the time I arrived some people thought it might even be just a weird Eurasian Wigeon. I can't see that personally, but it does look good for a hybrid. My only hesitation is over whether Eurasian Wigeon x Chiloe Wigeon can be ruled out. I would expect a Chiloe hybrid to show more orange tones on the flanks where as this bird showed very American-like deep brownish pink tones - however this may be within range for Eurasian x Chiloe and that hybrid can look rather similar to this bird. Joern Lehmhus also picked up on the possibility of this bird being Eurasian x Chiloe, though he was also uncertain. He pointed out the extent of dark on the crown is not typical of Eurasian x American, though sometimes this hybrid may have some dark in the crown. Some Eurasian Wigeon can have some dark in the crown too, so this is perhaps not necessarily proof of Chiloe Wigeon influence, but maybe it does point that way. The fact that my photos aren't good doesn't help! Worth noting that Wigeon hybrids appear to be fertile so Chiloe Wigeon hybrid backcrossed with Eurasian Wigeon should also be considered.
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possible Eurasian Wigeon x American Wigeon hybrid (or Eurasian Wigeon x Chiloe Wigeon hybrid) (With Eurasian Wigeons), Cley (Norfolk, UK), 7th February 2015
For comparison, here are photos of the parent species.
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Eurasian Wigeon, Buckenham (Norfolk, UK), 1st January 2010 and American Wigeon (with Eurasian Wigeons), Cley (Norfolk, UK), 3rd January 2011
For more photos of these species follow the links below: