@schnake2.bsky.social
Yeah, it's a bit noisy, but I believe RND, maybe female, in its first year is a safe bet. The other option might have been Redhead female, but head shape, face pattern and color don't look quite right.
October 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Yeah, it's a bit noisy, but I believe RND, maybe female, in its first year is a safe bet. The other option might have been Redhead female, but head shape, face pattern and color don't look quite right.
I'd say 1cy Ring-necked Duck, but probably the original photo is more revealing 😉
October 27, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I'd say 1cy Ring-necked Duck, but probably the original photo is more revealing 😉
So it could have been the same bird given the timing, but not necessarily since Sal is some 50 km (?) away and the bird has been observed until Oct 21st. But who knows...
October 22, 2025 at 1:33 PM
So it could have been the same bird given the timing, but not necessarily since Sal is some 50 km (?) away and the bird has been observed until Oct 21st. But who knows...
Looks like a female-type, and you are cited 🙂 Was the one on Boavista also a female?
October 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Looks like a female-type, and you are cited 🙂 Was the one on Boavista also a female?
Perfect, he is apparently doing a great job in continuing the work of a number of Dutch birders from the 90s into the 2010s. Enjoy Boavista!
October 22, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Perfect, he is apparently doing a great job in continuing the work of a number of Dutch birders from the 90s into the 2010s. Enjoy Boavista!
I also came across your blog post on the issues with e-bird coverage of Cape Verde and thought that this Facebook group might be of interest for you:
www.facebook.com/groups/44063...
Mainly in German, but relevant information easy to get.
www.facebook.com/groups/44063...
Mainly in German, but relevant information easy to get.
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I also came across your blog post on the issues with e-bird coverage of Cape Verde and thought that this Facebook group might be of interest for you:
www.facebook.com/groups/44063...
Mainly in German, but relevant information easy to get.
www.facebook.com/groups/44063...
Mainly in German, but relevant information easy to get.
Dear Stephen, thanks for sharing this! I am collecting data on RNDs in the Western Palearctic, just fun (e-)birding, I'm interested in patterns of occurrence, but also confounders like increase in observer knowledge, more reporting due to tools like e-bird.
October 22, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Dear Stephen, thanks for sharing this! I am collecting data on RNDs in the Western Palearctic, just fun (e-)birding, I'm interested in patterns of occurrence, but also confounders like increase in observer knowledge, more reporting due to tools like e-bird.
Hi Paul, eBird says yes, drake and female were observed since Sep. However, numbers may still get higher in that location.
October 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Hi Paul, eBird says yes, drake and female were observed since Sep. However, numbers may still get higher in that location.
Yeah, I read something quite disturbing about humans and pigs when digging a bit deeper....🫣
August 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Yeah, I read something quite disturbing about humans and pigs when digging a bit deeper....🫣
Actually, quite interesting dispute 🙂
August 23, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Actually, quite interesting dispute 🙂
Oops, and I see it may be a rather controversial discussion....
labandfield.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/i...
labandfield.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/i...
Is the Labrador Duck a Common Eider x Steller’s Eider hybrid? No
This is a joint post with my long-time friend and colleague Michelle Wille, a PhD candidate at Linnaeus University in Sweden A recent blog post hypothesizing that the now-extinct Labrador Duck was …
labandfield.wordpress.com
August 23, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Oops, and I see it may be a rather controversial discussion....
labandfield.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/i...
labandfield.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/i...
Dear Jente, thanks for bringing this up again. I recalled stumbling over blogs mentioning that the Labrador Duck may not have been a species at all and therefore tried to find what I read some years ago. I came across McCarthy's blog and someone citing his work from 2021. Has this been solved?
August 23, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Dear Jente, thanks for bringing this up again. I recalled stumbling over blogs mentioning that the Labrador Duck may not have been a species at all and therefore tried to find what I read some years ago. I came across McCarthy's blog and someone citing his work from 2021. Has this been solved?
June 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
So, given that RNDs team up with Common Pochards in Europe regularly, this hybrid is an option here, but we can never be certain. It is probably as close as we can get to this hybrid. The phenotypic overlap between Pochard hybrids with RNDs and Tufted Ducks may just make the ID unreliable.
June 28, 2025 at 9:41 PM
So, given that RNDs team up with Common Pochards in Europe regularly, this hybrid is an option here, but we can never be certain. It is probably as close as we can get to this hybrid. The phenotypic overlap between Pochard hybrids with RNDs and Tufted Ducks may just make the ID unreliable.
Interestingly, a strikingly similar Aythya was observed about 1000 km SSE in Finland 2 weeks earlier that was ID'd as Tufted x Pochard (7), but pretty much is in line with the description of Rigbäck as well (8).
June 28, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Interestingly, a strikingly similar Aythya was observed about 1000 km SSE in Finland 2 weeks earlier that was ID'd as Tufted x Pochard (7), but pretty much is in line with the description of Rigbäck as well (8).
The grey flanks are similar to (3), but here the contrast between back and flanks is less pronounced, no white spur, eyes can be yellowish-orange, but are usually lighter. In addition, there is always some brownish hue at the breast, flanks or back.
June 28, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The grey flanks are similar to (3), but here the contrast between back and flanks is less pronounced, no white spur, eyes can be yellowish-orange, but are usually lighter. In addition, there is always some brownish hue at the breast, flanks or back.
Bill shape of (1) would be within the variation of (2). The flanks of (1) appear greyish with a white anterior spur that somewhat resembles RND (cf. Rigbäck below) and is seen in (2). Tufted x Pochard (4-6) do not show this, however beginning molt could be an explanation.
June 28, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Bill shape of (1) would be within the variation of (2). The flanks of (1) appear greyish with a white anterior spur that somewhat resembles RND (cf. Rigbäck below) and is seen in (2). Tufted x Pochard (4-6) do not show this, however beginning molt could be an explanation.
(1) shows a head shape that resembles RND and its hybrids, but Tufted x Pochard and Pochard x Ferruginous can have similar shapes. The black breast seems more extended than (2) and the subterminal white band of (1) at the bill is broader than usually seen in hybrids of type (2).
June 28, 2025 at 9:39 PM
(1) shows a head shape that resembles RND and its hybrids, but Tufted x Pochard and Pochard x Ferruginous can have similar shapes. The black breast seems more extended than (2) and the subterminal white band of (1) at the bill is broader than usually seen in hybrids of type (2).
I put together some representative pictures of Canvasback x Ring-necked Duck (2), Tufted Duck x Pochard (4-6) and Pochard x Ferruginous (3) hybrids that each resemble the "mystery duck" (1) as much as possible.
June 28, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I put together some representative pictures of Canvasback x Ring-necked Duck (2), Tufted Duck x Pochard (4-6) and Pochard x Ferruginous (3) hybrids that each resemble the "mystery duck" (1) as much as possible.
Some more in depth analysis of this bird. Tufted x Common Pochard was my first thought and it cannot be excluded in the end.
June 28, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Some more in depth analysis of this bird. Tufted x Common Pochard was my first thought and it cannot be excluded in the end.
I will try to put together some pictures over the weekend for a side-by-side comparison.
June 27, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I will try to put together some pictures over the weekend for a side-by-side comparison.
The bird has been observed again, it will be hard to tell for sure what is in this mix here, but given these pictures RND is not so unlikely (quite sure that A. nyocra is not a parent). On Fb some people commented that it might rather be Tufted x Pochard.
www.artsobservasjoner.no/Image/3030043
www.artsobservasjoner.no/Image/3030043
taffeland × hvitøyeand?
1 Hann Næringssøkende Goaskinvuohppi, Goaskinvuohppi, Kautokeino, Fi 26. jun 2025 - Foto: Kjell Isaksen
www.artsobservasjoner.no
June 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The bird has been observed again, it will be hard to tell for sure what is in this mix here, but given these pictures RND is not so unlikely (quite sure that A. nyocra is not a parent). On Fb some people commented that it might rather be Tufted x Pochard.
www.artsobservasjoner.no/Image/3030043
www.artsobservasjoner.no/Image/3030043