Wigeon/Gadwall Hybrid ???

Had best hunt of year this morning. 5 drake greys and 1 young drake duck that has characteristics of both wigeon and gadwall. Looks to be pretty young and not all colored out (too bad). Has blue bill with black stripe down middle and bill a little longer than regular wigeon bill. Feet are dull gold color more like a gadwall, not bluish grey of a wigeon. Head has faint green patch, but no white crown at all, actually crown is brown. Wings have a little more black than a regular wigeon, and has small area of green in speculum. Pictures attached. Opinions?

Gadwall

you might actually be onto something. I have killed ALOT of greys but the biggest thing I see in these pictures is the green coming into the head of this duck. Looks like it could be a mix for sure. im not convinced its a grey 100%

Bayou Bob,Finally made it back home from USM bowl game and had horrible weather that we were basically out-running from day after game til last night and we got awakened early this am with torrential downpour!Sent your pictures to a few duck id experts and have heard back from one and he thinks it is hybrid and I tend to agree,especially looking at greenish patch on head and bill coloration.Hope weather allows us a few decent hunts Wed/Th and we shall see!!

Bayou Bob,Let's do a reverse rain dance and hope de weather allows us a chance at de NShore duckies and I like de way de Beretta looks with dat Kicks High Flyer extended choke tube installed!!Give ya a shout later today and maybe,just maybe,launching a tad later just like last Wed will be de ticket.Maybe we will get lucky and get in two decent hunts before de week end crowds materialize!!Surprised at the lack of comments and seems like you and I must be de lucky hunters shooting hybrid ducks!!

Definitely a widgeon/grey. Just by looking at the bill, head, and wings all show widgeon where the body show almost full grey

Ok, so who's the Widgeon hen that comitted adultery with a Gadwall ? Bad Suzie... fer shame.

I forwarded the photos to a top-notch taxidermist and his opinion is that this duck is a juvenile drake Wigeon/Gadwall hybrid.

BayouBob,Gotta think the taxidermist right on and everyone that has hunted for at least ten-15 years most likely recalls the flocks of gadwalls and widgeons that we used to routinely see travelling together so it does make sense that perhaps a hybrid or two might occur and I have seen pictures of mallards that look to be hybrids and you and I shot dat hen dat looked to be a possible mottled duck/mallard hybrid and I am quite sure that combination occurs much more frequently than your gadwall/widgeon hybridization.Let's hope tomorrow's hunt a productive one and let's also do another reverse rain dance for Th!!

Here is a pic of a Gad/Wig mix I shot years ago. Like yours it was young and not late enough in the season. Wish they would have been mature late season ducks so we could have seen them at their finest! Good luck the rest of the season!

Talked at length to Kevin Hynes,the taxidermist that I am taking my true black duck to this Th and he knows Bayou Bob quite well and said he was hoping he could have seen a more mature version of the same hybrid mix as yours as the eye band would have been much more pronounced and the widgeon-like bill likewise may have had more coloration.Not a bit of a surprise that hybridization of widgens and greys would occur as I used to routinely see them in same flocks and it was comical,at times,trying to decide which call to blow,the widgeon whistle or gadwall drake grunt/mallard hen call!!Many,many years ago,was hunting on a day I shoulda slept in(iced-over ponds in the NShore Marsh)and had a widgeon dead to rights and a huge drake grey(have not seen a bigger one since)crossed his flight and decided to pop the huge drake and one shot dropped him but he literally broke his neck cracking through ice(comical situation as the ice re-formed around him)and I had to break him out of the ice-should have sent him to Kevin Hynes for mounting but ending mounting him in de belly!!

Nice mount, Proud Pop. Unfortunately mine has less coloration than yours and is likely even younger, otherwise he would have gone to the taxidermist too! In nearly 40 years of hunting this was my first hybrid...hopefully if there is another it will be more 'wall-worthy'. Also still looking for my first banded duck...hopefully I'll get one before too long!