Freaky sparrow

[paulos]

Hey everyone,

A week or so ago in my neighbourhood I came across what seemed to be a melanistic and maybe diseased White-crowned sparrow. I considered hybridism with a Junco or something else but it's obvious something other is going on with that weird mane. That seems unlikely. The downturned bill does seem to be off, much more Tanager-like or Robin-like. I presume it's something like a weird mutation. Has anyone seen anything like this?

I also saw my second hybrid Northern Shoveler X Blue-winged Teal male, this one at Canim Lake. My pictures were not very usable, but the duck had the crescent of the Blue-winged teal as well as the scaly rufous tones of a Blue-winged teal over the pattern of a Northern Shoveler and a pretty-large-but-not-large-enough Shoveler bill.

[Ben]

Nope. Never seen anything like that. Was it wet? The feathers almost look like those of a wet & unkempt bird

[paulos]

One of our local birders suggested hybridization with a Baboon.

[Randy]

That's one crazy looking bird!