This Aythya was photographed at Benbrook Lake, near Fort Worth,
Texas on November 19, 1999 by Martin Reid. In the field a small
"mane" of slightly longer feathers was visible at the
back of the head, with the uppermost being a small whispy tuft
- visible in photos TXA, TXB, TXD, and to varying degrees in other
images. The other major points noted were that the rear flanks
had some scattered pale fringes (i.e. there were not plain brown,
but they were not vermiculated), the blackish back was uniform
without any sign of vermiculated feathers, and that the dark tip
to the bill was not as extensive as on a typical Tufted Duck,
but it did extend laterally to the full width of the bill
- click here to scroll down to a transcript
of my original notes, at the bottom of this page. Click
here to see comments made back in November 1999, based on
fewer, darker scans of the photos. I checked my original photos
of this bird and re-scanned some images (to better match the original
prints, and now using a 17" monitor) and added some new images.
Click here to view a page addressing
the features of this bird, using comparative images I've collected
via the Internet or from published sources:
Transcript of original field notes:
" 11/19/1999 C. 7.45am. Lake Benbrook. Tufted Duck? Aythya
found close-in, on its own, but as I pulled up, it started to
slowly swim away towards the distant large group of mixed Aythya
& dabblers.
Back & scaps a uniform blackish brown, with no hint of any
vermiculations or other paler edges - merged seamlessly into blackish
brown rump & tail & undertail - but a small whitish patch
visible in some views on the center of the utc {undertail coverts}.
Head the same blackish brown with glaring bright yellow eye when
light hit it (but looked duller in shadow) with an irregular whitish
patch @ base of bill that broke up over the bill base/top &
did not go below the gape. There was clearly a vestigial tuft,
seeming to consist of a mane of larger feathers that were rather
thin & whispy, & most of the time were held flat (making
the head look less rounded) but occasionally would fluff out to
show their individual structure and reveal a more rounded rear
of the head. Most of the time the head appeared squarish - not
classic TUDU, but not LESC or GRSC-like either. The underparts
were milky coffee brown, with a few scattered paler fringes (a
couple of these at the rear were quite thick) - again no sign
of vermiculations. Breast was a darker, warmer mid-brown, but
oddly the lower neck/upper breast was a paler brown with a golden
tone (?) Eventually it entered the duck flock way out & I
lost it: at no time did I get a look at the wings. Bill: on the
large side for TUDU at some angles, with less than average black
on the tip (but {black} tip did extend across full width of bill)
with a pale bluish band behind this that also extended slightly
along the sides back towards the base; rest of bill a reflective
mid-gray.
My concerns are that the bill may be a bit big, and the tuft rather
small - does this indicate a hybrid??? {Signature} 11/19/99 @
8.30am)"
Conclusion: Given the above description (and the detail
visible in the photos), the only realistic candidates seem to
be: Ring-necked Duck, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup,
or a hybrid involving two of the above. The white at the base
of the bill (on a yellow-eyed bird) rules out any pure RNDU, as
does the small tuft at the rear of the head (RNDU can often have
a bump a bit higher-up than this, but not an actual tuft). Both
Scaups are ruled out by the combination of small tuft, unmarked
blackish back (although a few GRSC imms can approach this color/pattern
for a brief period in winter), and bright yellow eye (imm. Scaups
of both taxa retain a darkish eye well into the early Spring,
while imm. male TUDU acquire a bright yellow eye early in the
winter). This leaves Tufted Duck, or a hybrid. This was the point
I arrived at very soon after the sighting, and I've refrained
from reaching a conclusion unless/until I felt I had enough evidence
to reasonably claim that this bird is within the normal variation
of TUDU. Frankly it is impossible to rule out a hybrid origin
for almost any individual Aythya duck, especially if you start
to postulate about back-crosses. Given that this individual
clearly has a tuft, it would be hard to argue that there
are no TUDU genes in this bird. In this situation, I feel if we
can establish that the individual has no significant anomalies,
and is within the normal variation for TUDU, we can reasonably
call it a TUDU. I feel that the large database of TUDU images
I have amassed does establish that there are no significant abnormalities
for TUDU on this individual, and that - while it does not have the "classic" look of a TUDU - every feature falls within
the normal range for TUDU - but as a potential First State Record, I stop short of claiming it as one at this time.
