This apparent hybrid Cinnamon Teal x Blue-winged Teal was found at Canonsburg Lake on 31-Mar, and has remained to at least 5-Apr. The bird shows many of the classic characters of this hybrid combination, including a partial white crescent in front of the eye, speckling or streaking throughout the underparts and flanks, and a light "hip patch" (Blue-winged features), but an overall cinnamon tone to the plumage, a red eye, and what appears to be a slightly larger bill (Cinnamon Teal features). Some of these are intermediate in nature, for instance the speckling on the underparts and flanks, which is intermediate between the heavy marking of a Blue-winged and the blank red of a Cinnamon. In flight the bird shows a large blue panel on the mid-wing (lesser coverts) with a trailing white edge, and green secondaries (I got one very blurry picture of this, not below).

 

During its stay this bird has been agressively defending a female Blue-winged Teal against one or two male Blue-winged Teal with which the pair has been associating.

 

Canonsburg Lake is quickly becoming the hybrid bird capital of Western Pennsylvania, as it is this same lake that has hosted a putative Great Blue Heron x Great Egret hybrid for at least four years. There is probably only one other record of Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal for Pennsylvania, that from Somerset County on an unknown date.