In February and March 1991, while censusing American Wigeons (Anas americana) at Alsea Bay in Lincoln County along the coast of central Oregon and at McFadden’s Marsh in Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, in the central Willamette Valley of western Oregon, I observed three Eurasian (A. penelope) × American Wigeons. I sketched each hybrid and noted its colors in detail. The birds were too distant for vermiculation, details of mottling, and axillars to be visible.
The first hybrid was at Alsea Bay on 3 and 10 February (Figure 1A). Its forehead and crown were bright cream. The bright iridescent rufous postocular band faded into the noniridescent cream of the cheek. The pinkish brown of the breast extended farther back along the sides than on a typical male Eurasian Wigeon. The back and sides were a homogeneous blend of gray and pinkish brown.