Is this bird not lacking the white crissum present on females? @Mr. Bobcat, would you mind sharing the location of the photograph to aid in the identification of what this duck is? It might be a hybrid, but once more location would help.
I'm stumped! I really like the Rosy-billed Pochard hypothesis and I wonder if the apparent absence of a white crissum is just an optical illusion - maybe it's hidden in a shadow case by the duck itself? The next closest match in my way of thinking is a female New Zealand Scaup, but that seems unlikely when you consider how uncommon that species is in the U.S.. I'm really not sure what this is, but my gut says Rosy-billed Pochard or a hybrid (maybe a Rosy-billed X Red-crested Pochard).
