Sunday 13 December 2015

Trumpeter Swan x Tundra Swan (Whistling Swan)

Trumpeter Swan x Tundra Swan (Whistling Swan) hybrid, Burlington, Skagit County (Washington, USA), 5th December 2009 - copyright Steve Mlodinow
(photo ID: 2209)


Here is another of Steve's hybrid records that could very easily have gone undetected were it not for a sharp pair of eyes.  Steve writes:
"This bird had a bill more like a Trumpeter Swan, was intermediate in size between two species, had more yellow on bill than Trumpeter Swan (which can have a dash of pallid yellow in lores), and displayed like a Trumpeter Swan. It was refound a couple weeks later and was paired with a Trumpeter Swan."


Trumpeter Swan x Tundra Swan (Whistling Swan) hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 2209 above), Burlington, Skagit County (Washington, USA), 5th December 2009 - copyright Steve Mlodinow
(photo IDs: 2207-2208)



Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus
Whistling Swan Cygnus columbianus columbianus

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