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    Mallard Ducks vs Black Ducks

    Mallard Ducks sometimes interbreed with other very closely related species, like the Black Duck for instance. At the little pond where I go to, I've seen both Mallard Ducks and Black Ducks, and some ducks that seem to be a hybrid of both species. Both species are similar in size and appearance, so how do we know which is which?

    Let's start with the Mallard Ducks:

    Mallard_ducks
    Male Mallards have a very characteristic dark-green iridescent head that is seprated by a white ring from the chestnut-brown chest and the paler brownish-greyish sides. They also have a bright yellow bill. Female Mallards, meanwhile, are mottled-brown in colour all over their body and have an orange bill that has brownish blotches on it. Both males and females have orange legs and a clearly visible white-bordered bluish-purple patch on their wings.

    Mallard_ducks_4

    Here, one female (far left) and three male Mallards are getting ready to take a plunge in the water as I approach. Notice the white-bordered bluish-purple patch they have on their wings.

    Mallard_ducks_3b
    The picture above shows a male (left) swimming ahead of a female (right) Mallard. The female has an orange bill and a clearly visible white-bordered blue patch on its wing. It's also more-or-less uniformly mottled-brown in colour all over its body.

    Now, let's look at some 'hybrid' Black Duck pictures:

    Black_ducks
    Here we have a 'hybrid' female Black Duck (hybrid because of the orange beak) swimming beside a male Black Duck. Black Ducks look like female Mallards except they have a darker body that contrasts more with their lighter-coloured head. Also, the bluish-purple patch on their wings is NOT bordered by white lines and is less visible than the white-bordered bluish-purple patch on the wings of the Mallards. The difference between the male and the female Black Ducks can be seen by looking at their bills. Males have a bright yellowish bill with no blotches, while females have an olive-coloured bill with blotches. The orange bill of the female in the picture shown above seems to indicate that it has Mallard genes.

    Black_duck_close-up
    The dude above looks like a male Black Duck (bright yellow blotch-free bill, and no white-bordered bluish-purple patch). Its body plumage is not as dark as a tyical Black Duck, so it probably has some Mallard genes. It's about to dabble its bill in the water to feed on underwater plants.

    Black_duck_female
    Here we have what looks like a typical female Black Duck, having a dull olive-green bill. The picture is a bit blurry, but you can see that the neck area is lighter than the body area.

    Rule of thumb: if you come across a flock of Mallard-looking ducks,  but none of them have iridescent green heads or white-bordered bluish-purple patches on their wings, think Black Duck.

    N.B. The Black Duck pictures were taken today; the Mallard Duck pictures were taken last year in early July.

     

    • 13 August 2012
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