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An Apparent Common x Barrow's GoldeneyeHybrid from the St. Lawrence River

byPaul R. Martin and Bruce M. Di Labio

Hybridization has been frequentlydocumented in the family Anatidae,particularly in the subfamily Anatinae(Gray 1958; Johnsgard 1965, 19(8).Not only has interbreeding betweenspecies of the same genus occurred,but also between different genera andeven different tribes (Gray 1958;Johnsgard 1968). Despite their closerelations, however, hybrids betweenthe Common Goldeneye (Bucephalaclangula) and the Barrow's GoldeneyeIE. islandica) have been rarelydocumented. There are two previousreports fOf" Ontario of hybridgoldeneyes: a male Ispecimen in theRoyal Ontario Museum) from theNiagara Gorge IBeardslee andMitchell 1965); and a sight record ofa possible male in PeterboroughCounty ISadler 1983). This paperdocuments an additional sight recordof an apparent Common x Barrow'sGoldeneye hybrid which represents,to our knowledge, one of very few ineastern North America.

On 27 November 1988, weobserved an apparent hybrid adultmale goldeneye at the Moses­Saunders Power Dam, both on theCanadian and American sides of theSt. Lawrence River near Cornwall,Stormont County, Ontario. The birdwas observed from approximately1030 h to 1045 h, both in overcastconditions and in direct sunlight,through two telescopes lhighestpower 25X) and binoculars. It wasobserved swimming from a distanceof about 150 m, and as close as 30 m

while flying. Throughout theobservation period, this goldeneyeswam amongst a mixed raft of over300 Common Mergansers IMergusmerganser) and 25 CommonGoldeneyes, thus offering directcomparison with adult male CommonGoldeneyes.

DescriptionAt first glance, this bird appeared tobe a dark Common Goldeneye drake.It was approximately the same size,or slightly larger, than the maleCommon Goldeneyes swimmingnearby. The eye colour was typical ofboth goldeneye species - brightyellow with a small black pupil.Upon closer examination, however,several characteristics lhead shape,facial and scapular patterns) werenoted which were intermediatebetween the two goldeneye speciesIsee Figure 1).

The head shape was similar tothe "triangle" shape of the CommonGoldeneye ICramp and Simmons1977), but not as pronounced. Theforehead rose from the base of thebill at.an angle intermediate betweenthose of the Common and Barrow'sgoldeneyes. Sloping gradually backfrom the crown, the head feathersjust above the nape projected towardsthe back. This projection was similarto, but shorter, than that found onadult male Barrow's Goldeneyes.

The head was dark and showedno iridescence, although nearbyCommon Goldeneye drakes clearly

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showed green iridescence in thestrong sunlight. The white crescentson the hybrid goldeneye's face werewidest at the base, tapering slightlynear the top. They were moreelongated than those of the CommonGoldeneye, curving slightly closer tothe eye. The crescents were roundedat the top, extending barely beyond aline from the top of the uppermandible to the eye.

The bill was dark lperhapsblackl, and slightly stubbier than thebills of nearby Common Goldeneyes.

The black-and-white pattern onthe scapulars was similar to that ofdrake Barrow's Goldeneye, exceptthat there was more white presentand the white areas were separatedby thin black lines nearly identical tothose found on the scapulars of adultCommon Goldeneye drakes. Betweenthe white breast and sides, anterior tothe bend of the wing/ there was ablack "spur" that extended forwardand down. This "spur" was abouthalf the size of the "spur" typical ofadult male Barrow's Goldeneyes. Theflanks were whiter extending back toabout the end of the patterning onthe scapulars. Here the sides wereblack beginning from the waterlinediagonally backward to where thewings rested, through to the undertailcoverts.

The wings appeared black at rest,but showed a white pattern in flight.The white patterns on the upperwingcoverts were like those of an adultmale Common Goldeneye, except fora thin black line extending half wayacross from the outerwing thatseparated the white areas in themedian and greater upperwingcoverts. This separation is morepronounced in adult male Barrow's

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Goldeneyes.The tail was black and noticeably

longer than those of nearby drakeCommon Goldeneyes. Average taillengths in Palmer 11976) show thetails of drake Barrow's Goldeneyes tobe shorter than those of drakeCommon Goldeneyes Iwith overlap l,making the tail length of the hybridgoldeneye seem somewhat odd.

BehaviourThe apparent hybrid goldeneye wasobserved preening, swimming, restingand displaying, but never diving orfeeding. When the entire flock ofducks was flushed by passersby, thisgoldeneye flew with a femaleCommon Goldeneye. Otherwise, itwas never observed to associate withany particular duck or ducks, butrather swam randomly through theflock.

The most interesting behaviour ofthis bird was what appeared to be acourtship display directed at noparticular bird and with no femaleCommon Goldeneyes nearby. Thedisplay was observed three timeswith a gap of at least several secondsbetween each display. In the display,the goldeneye extended its headupward and backward so that its billwas perpendicular to the water whilethe back of its head touched its back.The bird then threw its head directlyupward into the air until its neck wasfully extended. The bill remainedperpendicular to the water and waskept open. The bird's bill movementssuggested calling - perhaps constantly

while performing the courtship,although no vocalizations were heard.This "head-throw/ movementusually occurred two times perdisplay. Between displays, the hybrid

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Figure 1: Presumed Common x Barrow's Goldeneye Hybrid. Drawing based onfield sketches and notes made on 27 November 1988 by the authors.

goldeneye looked alert, moving aboutrestlessly with its neck fully extendedand head held high. The tail was heldup at an angle of approximately 40degrees to the water during thedisplay and for most of the period ofobservation.

This display was almost identicalto the "fast head-throw-kick" displayof the Common Goldeneye asdescribed by Townsend (Bent 19251,]ohnsgard (1965) and Palmer (1976).The Barrow's Goldeneye has a similardisplay, which differs in that thehead is brought back into an uprightposition after touching the back (Bent1925; ]ohnsgard 1965; Palmer 1976).The Common Goldeneye, on theother hand, often thrusts its headstraight upward, as seen in the hybridgoldeneye's display (Bent 1925;]ohnsgard 1965; Palmer 1976).

AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank RossHarris, Michel Gosselin, and MelisaKamibayashi for their valuedassistance and constructivecomments.

Literature citedBeardslee, C.S. and H.D. Mitchell 1965. Birds

of the Niagara Frontier Region. Bulletin of theBuffalo Society of Natural Sciences 22: 1-478.

Bent, A.C. 1925. Life histories of NorthAmeri9an wild fowl. Order Anseres (Part).Smithsonian Institution, United StatesNational Museum Bulletin 130.

Cramp, S. and K. E. L. Simmons (eds. J 1977.Handbook of the birds of Europe, the MiddleEast, and North Africa: the birds of theWestern Palearctic. Volume 1. Ostrich ­Ducks. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Gray, A.P., 1958. Bird hybrids. A check-listwith bibliography. Technical CommunicationNo. 13 of the Commonwealth Bureau ofAnimal Breeding and Genetics, Edenborough,England.

Johnsgard, P.A. 1965. Handbook of waterfowlbehaviour. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell UniversityPress.

Johnsgard, P.A. 1968. Waterfowl: their biologyand natural history. Lincoln, Nebraska:University of Nebraska Press.

Palmer, R. fed.} 1976. Handbook of NorthAmerican birds. Volume 3. London & NewHaven: Yale University Press.

Sadler, D. 1983. Our Heritage of Birds:Peterborough County in the Kawarthas.Orchid Press, Peterborough.

Paul R. Martin, 25 Beechmont Cres., Gloucester, Ontario K1B 4A7Bruce M. Di Labio, 62 Grange Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K1Y ON9

In Memoriam:Bill Hutchison (1932-1991)

byDoug McRae

On 5 November 1991, Bill Hutchisonpassed away. Bill wasn't widelyknown in the birding community, butfor anyone who travelled toMoosonee, he will be remembered ashaving the best bird feeder in town.And for those of us who had a chanceto get to know this interesting man,Bill will also be remembered as atremendous host and friend tovisiting naturalists..

Bill's feeder had many raritiesover the years, but was also themainstay for the small populations ofHouse Sparrows and Starlings inMoosonee. In 1982, a Yellow-

throated Warbler came to his feeder(see Ontario Birds 1: 13).

Bill was also active in manycommunity events and organizations.One endeavour in which Bill wasinvolved in 1991 was thedevelopment of the position of''Town Naturalist" for Moosonee.The creation of this interpretive postis just one indication of Bill's uniquetalents and abilities that will be sosorely missed by those of us who hadthe privilege of knowing him.Needless to say, our warm wishes areextended to Bill's family and friends.

Doug McRae, Box 130, St. Williams, Ontario NOE 1PO

ONTARIO BIRDS DECEMBER 1991