Pure Grey Duck - Mangere, Auckland.
- TheBirderman
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:47 pm
Pure Grey Duck - Mangere, Auckland.
Saw a Grey Duck out at Ambury Park/Puketutu Island. I uploaded a photo of it onto my iNaturalist dashboard which you can view here (It is the one in the foreground in front of the hybrid!): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18462408
- Liam Ballard
- Posts: 236
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:51 pm
- Location: Mt Eden, Auckland
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Re: Pure Grey Duck - Mangere, Auckland.
Hey TheBirderMan,
I might suggest that you are in fact looking at two hybrids with varying degrees of purity. Certainly the front bird has a lot more Grey Duck in it than the other, and doubtless the Ambury/Mangere area is excellent for these rare birds. However due to the darker face with more obscure facial stripes I'd say this bird is a hybrid, albeit a good one. In saying that, whether any 100% pure birds exist, especially in Auckland, seems to be uncertain so it could be the best around! Here's a fantastic guide to determining hybrids: https://ebird.org/newzealand/news/grey_ducks/
Hope it helps!
I might suggest that you are in fact looking at two hybrids with varying degrees of purity. Certainly the front bird has a lot more Grey Duck in it than the other, and doubtless the Ambury/Mangere area is excellent for these rare birds. However due to the darker face with more obscure facial stripes I'd say this bird is a hybrid, albeit a good one. In saying that, whether any 100% pure birds exist, especially in Auckland, seems to be uncertain so it could be the best around! Here's a fantastic guide to determining hybrids: https://ebird.org/newzealand/news/grey_ducks/
Hope it helps!
Liam Ballard