Where is the skvader?

"Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World" is a bizarrely brilliant reference work listing all known hybrids between different species of birds. Or at least all known to the compiler, Eugene M. McCarthy (any relation to the left-leaning liberal senator?). The list of literature consulted is extremely large, and something tells me Mr. McCarthy has either spent most of his spare time collecting information on hybrids from obscure ornithology journals...or he had at least a dozen people helping him. Nothing wrong with that. It's not often a book that mostly consists of bird names in long columns can be called fascinating!

Of course, some crosses are "better" than others. Most readers probably wouldn't know what to think of a cross between the Usambara Nightjar and the Abyssinian ditto, or between a King Cormorant and an Imperial Cormorant. (Perhaps we could give it the vernacular name Princess Cormorant?) The occasional hybrids between Tawny Owls and Ural Owls, said to occur right here in Sweden, don't move me either. In my book, most owls look the same anyway. However, even a bad bird-watcher like me sometimes gets the drift, as when McCarthy tells us that a cross between a Red Crossbill and a Bullfinch has been reported, and that it changed hands for 2,500 dollars. Ah, that I *can* believe! I also noted that the book contains an entire appendix listing Canary crosses only. It seems canaries sleep around with pretty much everybody who is somebody in finch high society...

Of course, the most fascinating part of the book is the appendix about unconfirmed or extremely dubious hybrids. How about Mallard x Domestic Fowl? A German headmaster claimed in 1862 that he had observed such a hybrid. It could swim, but would soon turn back to the shore, and swam only if it could reach bottom with its outstretched legs. Another report is from 1834 by Arthur Biggs of the Cambridge Botanic Garden. These hybrids couldn't swim, had difficulty eating and had legs like hens. Mallard x Guineafowl and Superb Lyrebird x Domestic Fowl are two other dubious crosses we all wish would be true. There's also a report from 1731-38 about a hybrid between a European Goldfinch and a Barn Swallow. Finally, the senator lists an obviously phony rumor that the Chilean poultry breed Araucana is the result of matings between Domestic Fowl and Tinamous. While both Araucanas and Tinamous lay blue eggs, Tinamous are - despite their deceptively fowl-like appearance - actually ratites. They are related to ostriches rather than to chicken... The idea of a ratite breeding true with the hens in your backyard is appealing but, alas, a fable.

Speaking of urban legends, I was reminded of an old Swedish hoax when browsing this book. When I was a kid, a museum in Stockholm displayed a stuffed "skvader", said to be a cross between a pheasant and a hare! According to Wikipedia, a similar animal is still on display in another Swedish town, Sundsvall. Their version is a cross between a hare and a Wood Grouse. (Perhaps my memory fails me and it's really the same specimen.) The bizarre creature is a joke, based on a tall tale by a hunter who claimed to have shot such an animal in 1874. I suppose this was a bit too much for a serious, scientific reference work...

Even without the skvader, I believe "Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World" is well worth a high five!