BirdingNZ.net

A female Paradise shelduck in Australia...

Read this
https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCo ... alia%20(AU)&regionCode=AU-VIC-WYN&q=duck%20sp.%20-%20Anatinae%20sp&fbclid=IwAR1vFNU9hVakzxDcb5x4QXd9AXoVy8Fwd7NOrhLISDjIDQvpgTOA3g_WR7Y

Hi Clinton, this has been on the facebook page for New Zealand Birders I think. It is certainly a female parrie, nothing else it can be. Afraid your link doesn't work, there must be something missing from it?

I'm skeptical of it being a paradise duck (NZPD) at this stage... I think an unusually-coloured Australian shelduck. Happy to be corrected. The gray on the head doesn't look right imo, and the chestnut colour seems quite bright too, like that of ASD. Not too sure, but the bill looks a bit dainty for a NZSD too

I believe the current consensus is hybrid bird. But everyone’s a bit confused. Female Cape Shelduck has been bandied about a bit too...

The consensus is highly unlikely. Yes, it looks like a CSD, but they're not present in Australian aviculture and don't make it there, ever. NZSD's are present in okay numbers in captivity in Australia, but they're expensive; a permit generally required to keep them; and they must be flight-restricted (as far as I know). I know of one record of a NZSD vagrant to Australia. This make me think that a CSD flying to Australia and hybridising with another virtually unknown bird is ridiculous. How often do Australian Shelducks hybridise with Parries in NZ?... like never... it's doubtful that it's an ASD x NZSD too... the most likely option is a colour mutation, which are somewhat rare, but far more believable, imo.

I know my ideas on this topic aren't aren't picking up much traction... they're not as exotic/sexy as rare hybrids... but I feel my arguments are sound

I'm aware that this can't be what it is, but it reminds me of these orange-brown Laysan ducks/Laysan-mallard hybrids: https://www.gobirding.eu/Photos/LaysanDuckxMallard.php

I was at Werribee a couple of days ago and saw the bird in question. I don't know what it is and nor do some experienced Aus birders that were also there. Also present were 25000 to 30000 cbsd - - - the sky and fields were full of clouds of them. So what's more likely, a very strange cbsd or a very strange Parry?

Can someone pass on a working hyperlink?

The text of the hyperlink was correct, but for some reason the tail end of it got omitted from the link. Hopefully this should work...

https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=duck1&region=Wyndham%2C%20Victoria%2C%20Australia%20(AU&regionCode=AU-VIC-WYN&q=duck%20sp.%20-%20Anatinae%20sp&fbclid=IwAR1vFNU9hVakzxDcb5x4QXd9AXoVy8Fwd7NOrhLISDjIDQvpgTOA3g_WR7Y

Has anyone suggested a hybrid between Chestnut-breasted Shelduck and Radjah (aka Burdekin) Shelduck? At least they live in the same country (though range doesn't overlap usually) and the colouring is a combination of the two species.

Pat