In the wigeon flock near the intersection of Hayden Road and Indian School Road in Scottsdale, in addition to a typical male Eurasian Wigeon that has been reported, Marley Wall showed Dennis Wall this atypical male wigeon. The partly rufous head showing a paler cheek and a green band through the eye and back to the neck and the creamy colored crown mix features of the two wigeon species. The gray flanks appear typical of Eurasian wigeon in one photo but show some rufous in the other. The color on the breast also appears to be mixed and there is a mixture of gray and rufous on the upperparts. Note how the colors show some change with position in these photos.  Together, these features identify this bird as a hybrid.

Wigeon hybrids show significant variation. They occur in Arizona at about the same frequency as apparently "pure" Eurasian Wigeons so it is important to carefully check all features before identifying a Eurasian Wigeon here.

 Photos of a hybrid wigeon that has wintered at Willcox for many years are in the Photo Documentation archives here: