Hybrid Ducks
Ducks hybridise readily, both in captivity and among wild populations. Identifying hybrids is fraught with difficulties. Not only are they highly variable but they do not always simply show a mix of each parent species' features. Indeed there are instances of hybrids bearing a more striking resemblance to a third species than to either of their two parent species.
If you've reached this page because you're looking to identify an unfamiliar duck that you suspect may be a hybrid or cross-breed then I suggest checking the note at the bottom of this page.
Regular visitors to this page will notice far fewer photos than before - it was getting unwieldy so I am now only showing examples of each hybrid here, with links to separate pages that contain more details and more photos of each type of hybrid.
White-faced Whistling-Duck x Black-billed Whistling-Duck
| |
captive presumed White-faced Whistling-Duck x Black-billed Whistling-Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 6th October 2012 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
White-faced Whistling-Duck x Fulvous Whistling-Duck
| |
captive presumed White-faced Whistling-Duck x Fulvous Whistling-Duck hybrid, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2014 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Egyptian Goose x Mallard
For more photos and comment on this group of 4 birds, click here.
Ruddy Shelduck x Cape (South African) Shelduck
| |
Ruddy Shelduck x Cape Shelduck hybrid (with Egyptian Geese), Bittering (Norfolk, UK), 25th January 2015 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Australian Shelduck x Ruddy Shelduck
| |
captive Australian Shelduck x Ruddy Shelduck hybrid, Grange-over-Sands (Cumbria, UK), 28th December 2011 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Shelduck x Wood Duck
| |
Shelduck x Wood Duck hybrid, Stirling (Stirlingshire, UK), 29th December 2013 |
| |
Shelduck x Wood Duck hybrid, Stirling (Stirlingshire, UK), 29th December 2013 |
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Muscovy Duck x Mallard
For more photos of these birds, click here.
Wood Duck x Pintail
| |
possible intersex Wood Duck x Pintail hybrid, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 4th February 2012 |
The identity of this hybrid is far from certain but for more photos and comment, click here.
Wigeon x American Wigeon
| |
Wigeon x American Wigeon hybrid, Cley (Norfolk, UK), 7th February 2015 |
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Wigeon x Chiloe Wigeon
| |
captive Wigeon x Chiloe Wigeon hybrid, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2014 |
| |
captive Wigeon x Chiloe Wigeon hybrid, Pensthorpe (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2014 |
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Wigeon x Gadwall
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Wigeon x Mallard
| |
Wigeon x Mallard hybrid, Stiffkey (Norfolk, UK), 18th December 2016 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Wigeon x Pintail
| |
presumed Wigeon x Pintail hybrid, Leathes Ham, Lowestoft (Suffolk, UK), 8th November 2014 |
For comment on this bird, click here.
Teal x Green-winged Teal
| |
Teal x Green-winged Teal hybrid, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 10th February 2008 |
For another photo and comment on this bird, click here.
Yellow-billed Teal (Speckled Teal) x White-cheeked Pintail
| |
captive possible Speckled Teal x White-cheeked Pintail hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 24th November 2013 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Laysan Duck x Mallard
| |
'ginger' variant Laysan Duck, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 12th March 2011 |
Known as just a variant of Laysan Duck but I find it hard to believe they don't have any Mallard involvement at all. For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Mallard x Yellow-billed Duck
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Mallard x Spot-billed Duck
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Mallard x Pintail
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Mallard x Red-crested Pochard
| |
Mallard (probably domestic variant) x Red-crested Pochard hybrid, Cleethorpes Boating Lake (Lincolnshire, UK), 7th April 2012 |
For more photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Yellow-billed Pintail x Laysan Duck
| |
possible Yellow-billed Pintail x Laysan Duck hybrid, Stilring (Stirlingshire, UK), 29th December 2013 |
For more photos and comment on this hybrid, click here.
Yellow-billed Teal (Speckled Teal) x Marbled Duck
| |
probable Yellow-billed Teal x Marbled Duck hybrid, Rollesby Broad (Norfolk, UK), 24th January 2016 |
For more photos and comment on this hybrid, click here.
Shoveler x Blue-winged Teal
![]() |
Shoveler x Blue-winged Teal hybrid, Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 7th April 2001 |
| |
captive presumed Shoveler x Blue-winged Teal hybrid, Blakeney (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2015 |
For comment on this hybrid, click here.
Teal sp. (Anas sp.) x diving duck (Aythya sp.)
| |
probable Teal sp. x Tufted Duck hybrid, Cantley BF (Norfolk, UK), 24th February 2008 |
The ID of this tricky bird is uncertain - for more photos and comment, click here.
Red Shoveler x Ferruginous Duck
| |
captive Anas sp. (possibly Red Shoveler) x Ferruginous Duck hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 4th December 2010 |
Probably Ferruginous Duck x one of the dabbling ducks, but whether or not the latter was Red Shoveler is less certain - for more photos and comment, click here.
Red-crested Pochard x Scaup
| |
captive possible Red-crested Pochard x Scaup hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 9th November 2013 |
Although Red-crested Pochard parentage seems fairly certain the Scaup half is much less certain - the other parent could perhaps be the unidentified Aythya hybrid shown below - for more photos and comment, click here.
Rosybill x Pochard
| |
captive probable Rosybill x Pochard hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 18th January 2004 |
| |
captive possible Rosybill x Pochard hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 18th January 2004 |
A pair of birds that don't seem to be quite right for pure Rosybill - for more photos and comment, click here.
Ferruginous Duck x Pochard
For more photos and comment on these hybrids, click here.
Ferruginous Duck x Scaup
| |
captive unidentified hybrid, perhaps Ferruginous Duck x Scaup, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 4th December 2010 |
I've changed my mind more than once about the identity of this hybrid - each time I have been uncertain and it still remains without a positive ID. More photos and comment on this bird, click here.
Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck
For more photos and comment on these and other birds, click here.
Pochard x Tufted Duck
| |
Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid (with Tufted Duck), Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 27th December 2008 |
| |
Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid, Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 3rd January 2015 |
For more photos and comment on these and another bird, click here.
Scaup x Tufted Duck
| |
probable Scaup x Tufted Duck hybrid, Salhouse Broad (Norfolk, UK), 1st January 2013 |
For more photos and comment on this and another bird, click here.
Hooded Merganser x Smew
| |
captive Hooded Merganser x Smew hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 15th October 2011 |
| |
captive Hooded Merganser x Smew hybrid, Blakeney Collection (Norfolk, UK), 11th April 2009 |
For more photos and comment on these birds, click here.
Many thanks to Joern Lehmhus, Carl Gunnar Gustavsson, Henry Lehto, Lars Michael Nielson and others for their valuable input on the hybrids shown on this page.
Note - a lot of people land on this page when trying to identify an unfamiliar duck which they think may be a hybrid. 9 times out of 10 the bird they are looking for is in fact a domestic variant of Mallard. The various domesticated forms of Mallard, or 'breeds', were originally obtained through human-controlled selective breeding of Mallards. Many look nothing like wild Mallards in plumage, structure or size (some are huge!) Poultry and waterfowl keepers' associations have come up with appearance standards to which any domestic duck must conform in order to be accepted as one of their named breeds, and any that do not conform to one or other breed are described as impure, or "cross-breeds". However pure breed or cross breed, they're all biologically Mallards, descended from wild Mallards, and have no genetic influence from any other species. Whilst breeders, members of the public and even some birders often describe these cross-breeds as hybrids it is much better to reserve the term "hybrid" for crosses between two different species. The only domesticated ducks that are not descended from Mallards are Muscovy Ducks, and so the only domestic cross-breed that can accurately be described as a hybrid is a Mallard x Muscovy Duck hybrid. Some of those are shown here, but for domestic variants of Mallard I have a page showing some of the different variants here.

.jpg)