Madagascar pochard | Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Critically Endangered Profile In late 2006, it was announced that the Madagascar pochard, last seen in 1991 and feared extinct, had been rediscovered by biologists from The Peregrine Fund. Durrell staff from Madagascar and Jersey were invited to make a rapid assessment of the tiny population and identify immediate threats. Madagascar pochards are diving birds that probably feed on aquatic plants and invertebrates in shallow water. Males have a distinctive white iris. Unlike previously known populations, which inhabited marshy, densely vegetated lakes, the small colony of pochards located by The Peregrine Fund team was found in a heavily forested volcanic lake. Although this has raised hopes that the species is holding on in other areas as well, intensive surveys have so far not found any further populations. In the past, the Madagascar pochard was found in the Lac Alaotra basin, where Durrell has a community-based conservation programme, focusing in particular on the gentle lemur. This region is a major rice-growing centre and the lake, its reedbeds and the wildlife that lives there have suffered from burning and hunting.

The pochard, like many other waterbird species, was unable to compete with introduced fish at Alaotra and other suitable wetlands. The tiny population recently discovered is living much further north, on a lake where there has been much less human disturbance – the area is not suitable for rice cultivation and there are no fish. In 2009 it was estimated that there were only 20 Madagascar pochards left in the world and Durrell, in partnership with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust , The Peregrine Fund and the Madagascar Government began an emergency operation to save the species from extinction. Three clutches of eggs were collected from the wild and 23 ducklings were reared. These birds will now form the basis of a captive-rearing project in Madagascar with the aim of one day returning this duck to other parts of Madagascar. In 2010 the project received significant funds from the UK’s Darwin Initiative which will help run this project for three years. Click here to view the related news story.

Identification of Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri and Baer’s-type Birds | Birds Korea Blog Identification of Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri and Baer’s-type Birds Nial Moores Field Identification 3 Comments Dr. Nial Moores, Birds Korea, March 13th 2015 (with additional material: March 14th) As part of the fledgling Species Action Plan and Task Force ( under the EAAFP ), we were asked by the coordinator to collate records of the now Critically Endangered Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri in Korea. We were able to trace about 20 records in the Republic of Korea (ROK) since 1994, though undoubtedly a few more records exist and we still welcome receiving any reports of this species on the Korean Peninsula, however old or recent (please with date, location, sex and age, and an indication of whether there are images or not).

Most of the records in the ROK were pre-2002, including the national high count: five in the Nakdong Estuary in January 1995 (listed in Park Jin Young’s 2002 doctoral thesis). There have been several recent winters with no records; there was only one record we know of last winter (a well-watched male on the Han River: see below); and it appears that there might have been no records this winter at all. Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri (with Common Pochard and Tufted Duck), Han River, February 2014 © Nial Moores In the past decade, it also appears that there have been more observations here in the ROK of (male) Aythya that show some Baer’s-like features than birds that actually look like pure Baer’s Pochard. Based on images publicly posted in Japan in winter in recent years, it also seems that there are rather more birds there also showing anomalous features than birds that do not. Some of these anomalies might be part of individual variation, some likely indicate hybridisation.

Fortunately, ID criteria should be much better know within 1-2 years, once the results of WWT’s genetic tests have been completed on the captive Baer’s Pochard population, and a gallery of birds of known (rather than suspected) provenance has been established; and once the species has also been better-studied at known breeding sites. For now though, with every record of this now extremely rare species important to gather and review, how to identify Baer’s Pochard? Adult Males Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri. Male in WWT collection, Martin Mere, UK , March 2015 © Pete Morris Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri. Male on breeding-grounds, China, May 2014 © Pete Morris Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri. Male, Okayama, Honshu, February 2012 © Pete Morris Adult males are actually quite striking and attractive birds to look at; something expressed by quite a few other observers when they first see the species.

Structurally, they look wide-bodied, large-headed, have quite rounded crowns (lacking the peak to the crown of Ferruginous Duck) and they “feel” large billed (an effect probably accentuated by the pale grey and blue tones to the bill, with black confined to the nail and the cutting edge). The fore-flanks have obvious white patches, easy to see at all times above the water line, sometimes slightly striped looking. There are additional “tiger-stripes” to the rear of the white (these stripes can be very striking in the field and were one of the main features I used to confirm my first few Baer’s). The head is green: not quite Mallard-green, but close. At certain angles, this green can just look quite dark. The breast is reddish-brown, often looking fiery, or coppery in strong light (giving the bird its Korean name), and sometimes appearing browner, adding to its “Mallard look”. The rest of the upperparts are dark, in shade sometimes looking blackish, with a hint of warmer tips to the upperparts in fresh plumage, and perhaps a slight purpley gloss when worn.

The vent is white, cleanly framed above and on the leading edge with dark. The plate in Madge and Burn’s 1989 identification guide Wildfowl shows a somewhat two-tone appearance to this dark (black above, fading to brown). The spread wing shows very extensive white (a feature pretty much shared with Ferruginous Duck). And like male Ferruginous Duck, the eye is also very pale, though usually yellowish-white or greenish-white (“sometimes very pale yellowish”: Madge and Burns) rather than white or blue-white. Eclipse Males Features of eclipse males and First-winter males seem to be less well-known than the adult males, and need to be refined. (If you have experience and can share it here, please do through the comments section.) One old source (“A Natural History of the Ducks: Plectropterinae, Dendrocygninae, Anatinae” by John Charles Phillips, 1922) apparently states that “Males in captivity did not “go off” in colour to any appreciable extent when in eclipse; although they assume a rusty facial patch and get some white mottling on the breast.

At this time also the white appears to “fade” off the flanks in both sexes” (thanks to James Holmes and the Kantori List-serve group). Another source, Ducks, Geese and Swans (edited by Janet Kear and published by the Oxford University Press in 2005) notes that at least some male Baer’s Pochard are in nuptial plumage (=breeding plumage) in August. My own experience is much more limited, but I have seen one or two full adult male Baer’s Pochard at least as early as October. Females Ducks, Geese and Swans describe the female thus: “superficially resembles male, but has dull brown head and chest, brown iris and subtle pale brown patch between bill and eyes”. Indeed, the few (adult-type?) females I have seen also seemed fairly straightforward to identify. Females simply looked like a dull, dark version of the male, with the same head shape, same large-looking bill (though darker), same obvious white foreflank patch and stripey flanks; similarly dark brown upperparts (though perhaps a shade paler than the male?); the same clean marked-off vent; and the same clean white wing-stripe.

Instead of a clean green head, the head looks darkly brownish-blackish-green, with a more or less obvious paler rusty patch on the lores, towards the bill base. Madge and Burn’s Wildfowl add that females “often” have “some whitish mottling on the throat” and that the iris is dark. It seems that the eye can appear more obviously bicolored when seen well or in strong light. The illustration of a female in Madge and Burn’s Wildfowl captures all of these features well. A photo of a female in Tadao Shimba’s (2007) Photographic guide to Birds of Japan and North-east Asia (taken in Fukuoka in December) shows a bird with a very dark eye and dark head, a rather darker-grey toned bill than in males, upperparts as dark as a male, some mottling to the lower edge of the breast, and only a weak suffusion of brown on the lores at the bill-base. It also shows an obvious white foreflank patch and some tiger striping (paler bars) across the rear flanks.

It therefore more or less matches the illustration of the immature in Madge and Burn’s Wildfowl, and perhaps could be a First-winter female (?). Juvenile / Immature (July-November?) Immature plumages do seem to be less well-known. Most Aythya (and therefore presumably Baer’s Pochard too) have a head and body moult during their first winter. Wing-feathers tend to be (largely) un-moulted, presumably creating moult contrast once a bird starts to mature. Ducks, Geese and Swans states simply that the immature looks “as adult female, but has russet brown abdomen”, a feature not shown in Madge and Burns. An immature male that has not yet started moult perhaps should have a russet brown abdomen (or some russet brown wash there) and look dark-eyed; and one that has started to moult should show white appearing on the vent; paleing (brown) eyes; green replacing brown on the head; and some moult contrast.

According to Madge and Burn, the Juvenile “resembles female, but duller with head and neck dull buffish-brown, contrasting a little with the darker crown and hindneck and and reddish-brown breast; white of belly suffused brownish but white on fore-flanks relatively extensive. Assumes adult plumage during first autumn and winter.” One male at Junam (ROK) in February 2008, photographed at distance, showed some paler area towards the bill-base; intermediate-colored eyes; some brownish wash to the green of the head; and brown on the scapulars. It otherwise looked just like the adult male Baer’s Pochard which was less than 10m away from it. It was therefore identified as a First-winter male (in its Second Calendar-year). See image 268 in our Gallery . All of the above suggests that Baer’s Pochards really should look like Baer’s Pochard, at least from late autumn onwards. Baer’s Like Birds So what then to make of this individual in the collection at Martin Mere in the UK photographed earlier this month?

The Baer’s Pochards in the WWT collection have a long history of captivity, and there is therefore the possibility that some individuals are the result of hybridisation (hence the need to genetically test them). Is this an eclipse male Baer’s? A Second Calendar-year male Baer’s? An old female Baer’s? Or a Baer’s like hybrid (perhaps with some “old” Ferruginous genes?)? Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri or Baer’s like bird in WWT collection, Martin Mere, UK , March 2015 © Pete Morris Although showing multiple features expected in a Baer’s, it also shows much more than “subtle” russet-brown at the bill base (not only on the lores, but apparently onto the forehead too); a greatly reduced white fore-flank patch; a much reduced contrast between the breast and the flanks; black extending (just) off the nail but not along the cutting edge; and a grey and brown iris. In this one image, the head also looks a little peaked. If it is a pure Baer’s, then it seems to complicate identification of hybirds even further!

Images of Baer’s like birds this winter from Japan and the ROK (as recently as March) also show birds with one or more anomalous features, many perhaps a little more striking than in the image above, including e.g.: A sharply-peaked crown; A lack of white foreflank patch; A lack of flank stripes; Muted tones to the breast in adult males and / or weak contrast between the head and breast; Common Pochard-type orange on the crown; Presence of Common Pochard-grey (in the upperparts and / or wing-stripe) Presence of vermiculations (even though faint); Poorly marked off vent, in what otherwise appears to be an adult; Black on the bill extending obviously off the nail; Dark grey tones to the bill in pale-eyed (=adult male) birds. It would seem wisest to document such birds as carefully and as fully as possibly, and to consider them as hybrids (or as Baer’s like birds) until Baer’s Pochards of known provenance are proven to show the same features (so that such features can no longer be considered as anomalous).

Baer’s like hybrid, with multiple non-Baer’s features, Han River, March 2015 © Robin Newlin Presumed hybrid (ID made by PM) Baer’s Pochard x Ferruginous Duck, between Baer’s and Ferruginous, May, China © Pete Morris For now, Aythya and ID experts are invited to review some of these online images and to help determine objectively which species might be involved. Some e.g. green-headed birds that show several anomalous features might not even have Baer’s Pochard genes in them (see Gillham et al. (1966)); some others seen over the years seem to suggest hybridisation between Ferruginous Duck and Baer’s Pochard; Ferruginous Duck and Common Pochard; and perhaps Baer’s Pochard and Common Pochard (including the 2015 bird on the Han River?) . Accepting that the vast majority of Baer’s like birds showing multiple anomalous features are hybrids should be fairly straightforward, as hybrid Aythya are frequently seen by birders in other parts of the world.

However, a recent email chain on the Kantori Listserver (the reason for this extended note) suggested otherwise. Reasons for rejecting this approach seem to include (1) The lack of good published information on Baer’s Pochard, especially non-adult male plumages so that potential variation is not yet well-understood; and (2) The unlikelihood of hybrids outnumbering pure Baer’s Pochard in Japan or anywhere else. The first point should be addressed in time by the research being conducted by the WWT and in the field in China, and I hope is at least part-addressed by the images above.

The second can be explained simply by understanding that Baer’s Pochard is now extremely rare, so that everyone is starting to look for it; it seems to be undergoing range contraction (even while species like Ferruginous Duck appears to be expanding its range in East Asia), so that the part of the population that used to migrate regularly to Korea and Japan might effectively no longer exist; and these hybrids (while still probably a tiny number of individuals) are only likely to be obvious and numerically dominant at the edge of the range of the species, in areas with very few pure Baer’s but with many birdwatchers, photographers and well-watched wetlands (e.g. in Japan and the ROK). Hybrids are thus likely to be much less numerous (at least proportionately), and less photographed, in core breeding and wintering areas that hold more pure birds (i.e. in parts of China). Images and comments are welcome. And finally, many thanks to Pete Morris (of Birdquest) and Prof. Robin Newlin for permission to use their images; and to Kantori for hosting a lively discussion on these birds.

The RSPB: Pochard Swans, ducks and geese (Anatidae) Where to see them Good places to look in summer are open lakes and gravel pits in lowland eastern England and Scotland. They're much easier to see in winter across the whole of the UK, often on larger lakes and even on estuaries. When to see them Pochards are most common in the UK during autumn and winter, when large numbers fly from eastern Europe and Russia to escape the bitterly cold weather there. They're quite rare breeding birds in this country. What they eat Plants and seeds, snails, small fish and insects. Population The RSPB: Pochard Swans, ducks and geese (Anatidae) Where to see them Good places to look in summer are open lakes and gravel pits in lowland eastern England and Scotland. They're much easier to see in winter across the whole of the UK, often on larger lakes and even on estuaries. When to see them Pochards are most common in the UK during autumn and winter, when large numbers fly from eastern Europe and Russia to escape the bitterly cold weather there. They're quite rare breeding birds in this country.

What they eat Plants and seeds, snails, small fish and insects. Population Pochard Behavior - Whatbird.com A depression or shallow cup in a thick heap of vegetation lined with down. Nest Location: On the ground usually in shallow water, concealed in thick waterside reedbeds, or on floating mats of reeds of other vegetation. In years of high water levels when there are few emergent reedbeds or floating mats the species may nest in sedge tussocks, flooded fields, or under bushes on hummocks. Migration: Most migrate General Pochard: Stocky, diving duck with dark red-brown head. Has red eye, dark grey bill with pale grey band, and black breast and upper back. The rest of the back is grey as is the belly. Wings are grey with dark grey trailing edge on primaries. Rump, tail, and vent are black. Adult female has wings like male but back and belly are brown-grey, breast and upper back are brown, and head and neck are grey-brown. Has buff eye ring, line behind dark eye, and lores. Juvenile like female but more uniform head and paler brown body with indistinct barring.

Range and Habitat Pochard: Winter visitor and resident breeder in the UK. Birds can be seen all year. Breeding areas are found across England, in central Ireland, and on Scotland's east coast. Birds winter on the north and Cornish coasts of England, in coastal Wales, and in Scotland. See them on lakes and estuaries. Breeding and Nesting Pochard: Nest is on the ground near water, or on a platform above water. It is a shallow cup of reeds and other vegetation lined with down. Female builds nest and incubates eggs, usually 6 to 10. Two females may share a nest, which can contain up to 22 eggs. Male usually leaves during incubation. Foraging and Feeding Pochard: Feeds mostly on plants and seeds found around open lakes, estuaries and slow rivers. It will also eat snails, small fish and insects. Vocalization Red-crested Pochard Behavior - Whatbird.com Hollow made of roots, twigs and leaves and lined with down feathers. Nest Location: Near water on the ground in dense vegetation or on floating mats of vegetation amidst reedbeds.

Migration: Some migrate General Red-crested Pochard: Mallard-sized duck with red-orange crown, brown face with red eye, and red bill. Nape, back of neck, underparts, and rump black. Large, white lower flanks. Back grey-brown. Wings mostly white with grey-brown and black trailing edge. Fast, direct flight. Adult female pale, grey-brown on upperparts, pale brown on underparts. Dark grey around eye, and light grey on face and throat. Dark grey bill with dull pink. Male eclipse like female but more red-brown and red eye and bill. Juvenile like female but all dark bill. Range and Habitat Red-crested Pochard: Escaped breeder and scarce visitor in Britain. Birds are visible all year. Breeding birds are likely to be found in southern and eastern England. Occasional birds visit on passage from continental Europe. Habitat includes lakes, reservoirs, and marshes. Breeding and Nesting Red-Crested Pochard: Nest is a small, lined depression on the ground near water or on a reed platform in water. It is usually well hidden in vegetation.

Two or more females may share a "dump nest" or community nest. Female may also parasitize, laying eggs in the nest of another species. Foraging and Feeding Red-crested Pochard: Feeds mainly by diving or dabbling for stems, roots and seeds of aquatic vegetation. Found in marshes, lakes and river deltas forming flocks with other ducks. Vocalization More on Baer’s Pochard, Baer’s-like birds and Hybrids | Birds Korea Blog More on Baer’s Pochard, Baer’s-like birds and Hybrids Dr Nial Moores, April 7th 2015 Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri , December 21st 2014, Osaka, Japan © Neil Davidson Encouraged by discussions with some in the fledgling Baer’s Pochard Task Force, this second post follows on from the one last month on Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri identification. The March post outlined some main features to look for and highlighted some major information gaps, including the identification of some females and especially immatures. Many information gaps remain.

However, thanks to Choi Chul-Soon and Rich Lindie in the ROK, Pete Morris and Marcus Nash in the UK, Neil Davidson and Yann Muzika in Japan, and Terry Townshend in China this post includes several new images and some additional insights, aimed at trying to ask and answer a few more questions. First though, a correction to the March post: a series of stunning images (photographed in Japan by Neil Davidson, and featured on his excellent blog ) taken on December 1st and then again on December 21st confirms that male Baer’s Pochard can have much of the green on the head obscured by brown into December. A late progression out of eclipse plumage is also suggested by some captive Baer’s type birds in the UK (Marcus Nash in lit., April 2015). Brown, but not orange or chestnut, on the head in a bird in late autumn that otherwise has all the features typical of male Baer’s is within the normal range of Baer’s Pochard.

Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri, December 1st 2014, Osaka, Japan © Neil Davidson The same Baer’s Pochard as above, but three weeks later, on December 21st 2014, Osaka, Japan © Neil Davidson 1. What to consider as likely hybrid features? A paper in British Birds on the identification of Ferruginous Pochard ( Vinicombe 2000 ) concluded that, “An apparent Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca should always be checked for signs of hybridity and, if it shows any anomalous feature, no matter how small, it should not be claimed as such”. Considering the extreme global rarity of the Critically Endangered Baer’s Pochard, it only seems appropriate to apply a similarly strict approach to all claims of Baer’s Pochard (until, as above, research demonstrates that suspected anomalies are instead part of the normal variation shown by pure birds).

Based on a review of images of captive and wild birds, on review of additional literature, and on detailed discussions (both over the years and more recently), features in Baer’s-like birds that seem anomalous and appear to suggest hybridisation with either Ferruginous Duck or Common Pochard A. ferina include: Odd size Odd-coloured eyes (e.g.

in males, yellow instead of white or blue-white) Presence of orange or rufous on the crown or head Lack of or a strongly reduced fore-flank white patch, which should be evident in males (and most probably females) from about October at least, and in pure birds should reach almost up to the edge of the dark of the upperparts (see above images) Reduced tiger-striping of brown and white across the rear flanks Presence of grey anywhere in the plumage, apart from the outer primaries (according to Olgilvie & Young’s Wildfowl of the World, male Baer’s has a“ broad white bar across secondaries, becoming light grey on all but outermost primaries” and according to Madge & Burn’s Wildfowl, “the secondaries and primaries appear basically white, contrasting with very dark forewing and greyer outer primaries”) Presence of vermiculations anywhere in the plumage It is important to note that many of the presumed anomalies listed above are evident both in images of wild birds and in many of the Baer’s held in captivity.

It is therefore hoped that genetic testing of captive birds might soon help to disentangle which of these anomalous features, if any, can be shown by pure birds and which are instead the result of hybridisation. 2. Is there really any evidence that Baer’s Pochard hybridises with other Aythya? Several species have been documented as hybridising with Baer’s Pochard in captivity (see: Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World). Although there are very few Anatidae collections still in East Asia (fortunately!), there have been several observations of Ferruginous Duck seen displaying to Baer’s Pochard (at least once in the ROK and more often in China). And a quite beautiful male Aythya photographed in Gangneung by Choi Chul-Soon at the end of March 2015 appears to show multiple features of both Ferruginous Duck and Baer’s Pochard.

Presumed hybrid male Ferruginous Duck x Baer’s Pochard, late March 2015, Gangneung (ROK) © Choi Chul-Soon Presumed hybrid male with female Ferruginous Duck (right) and two Common Pochard (front), late March 2015, Gangneung (ROK) © Choi Chul-Soon The male can be aged as an adult (or much less likely adult-type) based on its extremely pale iris and lack of mottling on the breast. It shows an extensive green gloss to the rear of the head (apparently unlike Ferruginous at any age); has a subtly darker breast than flanks; and lacks any hint of a white fore-flank patch. In the lower of the two images, it looks more or less similar in size to two Common Pochard, and similar in structure to the female Ferruginous Duck (which was identified as a pure bird by Marcus Nash), though with a thicker neck and more blocky head. As the male at least shows features considered diagnostic of two species, the most obvious identification of this bird is as a male Baer’s Pochard x Ferruginous Duck hybrid.

The March 2015 individual is sadly not unique in appearance. Rather, it closely resembles a male photographed in Gyeonggi Province in January 2006, shown on page 74 of the excellent “Wild Birds Field Guide” (Park 2014), differing from pure Baer’s Pochard in having rufous-tones to the crown; in having a greatly reduced white fore-flank patch (not reaching the dark of the upperparts, but still more obvious than the 2015 bird); and in having rear flanks that are extensively saturated with a Ferruginous Duck-like reddish brown (lacking obvious pale-based tiger stripes). Both the 2006 and 2015 individuals are in turn quite similar to (but much cleaner-looking than) a male that was photographed in Seoul in March 2007, and was present at least from the beginning of the month to the 23rd. This 2007 bird, posted on the Birds Korea website, showed mottling on the breast and rufous-brown spots on the belly, indicative of immaturity.

The most reasonable identification is therefore as a First-winter male Ferruginous Duck x Baer’s Pochard hybrid. Hybrid Ferruginous Duck x Baer’s Pochard, March 2007, Han River, Seoul © Rich Lindie These three individuals are perhaps (?) First-generation hybrid males (with one parent Ferruginous and one parent Baer’s Pochard). Second-generation hybrids between Ferruginous and Baer’s are likely even more challenging to identify. A bird photographed at Yancheng (north of Rudong on the Chinese coast) in December 2014 was initially identified confidently by the observers as a First-winter Baer’s Pochard. However, it seems to myself and some others to show multiple anomalies (including in structure and plumage). It does show a slightly paler lower fore-flank at some angles, apparently most obvious on the left side of the bird; the bill does looks pale and fairly large; and the head might show some faint greenish gloss, all suggestive of some Baer’s influence.

However, the fore-flank white is greatly reduced; there is little contrast evident in the images between the head and the breast; the flanks look fairly uniform (with Ferruginous-like striping); and the scapulars show obvious paling (a feature apparently shown by some Ferruginous x Common Pochard hybrids, according to Vinicombe’s paper). At least some Baer’s Pochard aged as First-winter in mid-winter look close to adult Baer’s Pochard, and therefore seem quite unlike this bird. And of course, age does not explain any structural anomalies. Useful correspondence with the photographer (on April 9th and 10th) included the comment that although this bird looks similar to other online images of Baer’s, that the identification might best be withdrawn, unless / until other First-winter Baer’s Pochards are shown to lack white on the fore-flanks and green on the head. A different bird photographed at Song Do, Incheon, in November 2012 , helps to suggests some of the potential challenges of identifying pure Baer’s Pochard based on online images and information.

The Song Do bird was also initially identified as a First-winter Baer’s, with this record included in the 2013 paper written by Hearn et al. in BirdingAsia 19 (2013) 63-67 . According to the paper, ageing of this and a second individual in China was based on its relatively dull plumage and dark eye (although the images show the Song Do bird was pale-eyed). Apparently, this bird remained for another two months or more and did not develop any green on the head, nor any extensive white on the fore-flank. It was instead reluctantly identified as a hybrid (perhaps Second-generation) by several observers. Even the captive male (photographed by Pete Morris at Martin Mere in the UK), used in the March blog-post to demonstrate the plumage of pure Baer’s Pochard and posted again below, seems to show some subtle anomalies that might suggest a history with some hybridisation in it. Captive Baer’s Pochard or Baer’s type, Martin Mere, UK, March 2015 © Pete Morris.

Marcus Nash, who has visited several Anatidae collections in the UK and reviewed images in order to help clarify identification criteria for pure Ferruginous Duck, and also for pure Baer’s Pochard, cautions, “The photo of the Martin Mere drake (above) is one of the better ones in the WWT collections, but I do wonder whether the flank pattern is not as ‘striped’ as you would like. It may well be within the range of Baer’s but I wonder whether it is a fraction dark, and whether there is a hint of the white-barred effect you get on some of the captive birds…It may be better to steer clear of captive birds if you can, when illustrating what Baer’s should look like.” Several other wild Baer’s Pochard-like individuals and more obvious hybrids suggest the influence of Common Pochard (either First Generation hybrids or backcrossed with either of the parent species). Such males e.g. show some green on the head; some white on the fore-flank; and some hint of “tiger-striping” on the flanks.

They can also show some trace of orange on the crown and some grey or vermiculations on the flanks or on the upperparts (neither of the latter feature being found in either pure Baer’s Pochard or Ferruginous Duck). A hybrid male Aythya was photographed in Busan on March 15th 2003. First picked up at very long range on account of what appeared at rest to be deep green gloss to the head, reddish-brown breast, white fore-flank spur, weak tiger stripes on the flanks, and white vent, the bird was large, similar in size to Common Pochard. It also showed extensive vermiculated grey on the flanks; and upperparts that paled from dark grey to pale grey, all features that clearly indicated a hybrid origin, as did the purpley-green gloss to the head in strong light. Although the bill looked fairly Baer’s like, this bird had a wing-stripe that was strikingly white on the inner part of the wing and obviously grey on the outer wing.

It was therefore tentatively identified and posted as a hybrid Baer’s Pochard x Common Pochard (either First or perhaps Second Generation?), an identification it seems that was incorporated into The Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World (see p. 91). Hybrid, identified as Common Pochard x Baer’s Pochard, February 25th 2003, Busan (ROK) © Nial Moores What is perhaps most remarkable now about the Busan bird is how similar that individual looks to one that unknown to us here had been better photographed a year earlier, in Osaka, Japan, on December 29th 2001 and again on 11th January 2002 . This bird, identified by Neil Davidson also as a hybrid Baer’s x Common Pochard, like the 2003 bird shows several features in common with another hybrid photographed on the Han River by Robin Newlin in Seoul in March 2015.

This last bird was also sexed and aged as an adult male based on its yellowish eye, lack of breast mottling and lack of spotting on the underparts (known to be shown by Ferruginous and perhaps shown by immature Baer’s), Hybrid, tentatively identified as Baer’s x Common Pochard, March 8th 2015, Han River, Seoul (ROK) © Robin Newlin A male photographed in Japan (on February 28th 2015) also seems to be the result of hybridization between Baer’s Pochard and Common Pochard. The series of images seem to show a bird similar in size to a Common Pochard (thus towards the large-end for a Baer’s, like the March 2015 bird in Seoul), with a large head and pale bill (both good for Baer’s Pochard); a reddish-brown breast; and a strong green gloss to the rear of the head. Although the flanks show some weak tiger-striping, they are covered with grey vermiculations (giving the flanks a coarse-grained look), recalling Common Pochard.

Common Pochard is also strongly suggested by the orangey-brown tones to the crown. A different male in Tokyo, well-photographed in January 2015 by Yann Muzika and others, superficially looks much closer to a pure Baer’s Pochard, and has been posted as such on the Oriental Bird Club Image Database. However, thanks to the exceptional quality of the images, fine vermiculations can be seen across part of the fore-flank (especially on the left side of the bird); a hint of orange is present on the fore-crown (see lower image); and the eye is more obviously yellow than might be expected in a pure Baer’s. Baer’s like male (perhaps Second-generation or backcrossed hybrid Baer’s Pochard x Common Pochard?), January 6th 2015, Tokyo, Japan © Yann Muzika (downloaded from his excellent blog and used with permission ) 3. All of the (presumed) hybrids described above have been males: what do female hybrids between Baer’s Pochard and other species look like? Can they be identified with confidence? We welcome your input with helping to answer this important question(!).

Although there seems to be a high prevalence of male Baer’s types that show “obvious” hybrid features, during 25 years of fieldwork within region and a decade of trying to help Birds Korea review records of Baer’s Pochard and Ferruginous Duck in the ROK, I do not remember knowingly seeing any image of a female Baer’s Pochard-type identified here as a hybrid. Allowing for obvious sources of bias (with females being both harder to identify and less attractive to photographers), it still seems reasonable to ask why so few female Baer’s and Baer’s like birds are being claimed, and why no such birds are being identified as having anomalous features. Are some of those females that are getting photographed on the breeding grounds, some of which seem to show a Baer’s-like structure and a Ferruginous-like plumage, all Baer’s Pochard in a poorly-known plumage? Or are some of these more likely to be hybrids?

Until the results of the genetics work being conducted on captive Baer’s Pochard are published by the WWT, at the least it seems unwise for now to identify Baer’s Pochard on the basis of comparison with captive birds in Europe, where many birds sadly do appear like they may have been affected by hybridisation (Marcus Nash in lit. April 2015). Male Baer’s type, March 15th 2015, Martin Mere (UK) © Pete Morris. Note e.g. the rufous on crown, greatly reduced fore-flank white and the grainy look to the scapulars. (NB: No other Aythya were seen to be in eclipse-type plumage on this date) Female Baer’s type, March 15th 2015, Martin Mere (UK) © Pete Morris. Note e.g. the grey and black vermiculations close to the vent, and the lack of white fore-flank patch and tiger-striping. 4. And finally, are these East Asian hybrid-types from bird collections?

Unlike northern Europe and some other regions of the world, it appears that happily there are still very few Anatidae held in collections in the ROK; and still only a few records of escaped or released exotic waterbirds (including e.g. Black Swan). Although there seem to be no (?) well-documented reports yet of mixed pairs with young, there are multiple threads of evidence that support the hypothesis that hybridisation in the wild between Baer’s Pochard, Ferruginous Duck and Common Pochard is taking place. Multiple presumed hybrids are being seen (in recent years outnumbering apparently pure Baer’s Pochard in the ROK). And while Baer’s Pochard has undergone a massive decline, Ferruginous Duck, a species mapped as breeding in several parts of China in Cheng’s Synposis of the Avifauna of China, continues to expand northeastward into the core of the breeding range of Baer’s. Common Pochard too was, until recently at least, also increasing within part of the breeding range of Baer’s Pochard.

To help improve this discussion, please, we would like to ask respectfully if birders in Japan, China and Russia can confirm whether you know of captive Aythya and wild bird collections that include Baer’s Pochard and Ferruginous Duck? And / or whether you know of (likely) mixed pairings of wild birds at breeding sites? If so, can you please send us or the WWT (latter, as coordinators of the Task Force) details, if possible with images? Also, please send any corrections or thoughts, either privately or publicly in the comments section. Thank you! And again, thanks once more too to all those who helped with this note in one way or another: Mr. Choi Chul-Soon, Dr. Shim Kyu-Sik, Prof. Robin Newlin, Mr. Tim Edelsten, Mr. Rich Lindie, Mr. Terry Townshend, Mr. Pete Morris, Mr. Marcus Nash, Mr. Neil Davidson and Mr. Yann Muzika.

Question: What type of bird is a pochard?
Answer: Duck