This one was at Colusa NWR Northern California. Have never seen one like this before. My guess would be a mallard cross due to neck ring he also did not have the brown crown as been on Gad Drakes.He seemed to have himself a mate too. These 2 were together all morning and having disputes with the other Gadwall pairs.
The only obvious odd feature is the white collar, which is actually much broader than you would expect on a normal wild Mallard.
Most hybrids exhibit characteristics from both parents. However, there are no drake Mallard features in evidence here, e.g yellow bill, green head, purplish-brown breast or black curly tail feathers. On the other hand, nearly all male Gadwall plumage details are present where expected.
I would surmise this is just an aberrant individual, which do occur from time to time in most species.
Gadwall Mallard Cross Breed?
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