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Project Noah Nature School
? Anas sp
A handsome duck with distinct teal-coloured head and red sides. The bill is a bright yellowish-orange. Pic #3 shows him with a female mallard and pacific black ducks
Spotted on a lake (retarding basin) close to rushes.
These mallards were introduced to Australia in 1800s and can be seen everywhere - the females are less brightly coloured as can be seen here: http://snapt.abul.us/Project365/2010/09/... mallards interbreed with pacific black ducks - previous spottings http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/853... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/854...
Spotted on Jul 7, 2012
Submitted on Jul 10, 2012
5 Comments
:) you are absolutly right Leuba
Antonio, I think hybridization makes for interesting specimens, so long as the natural (original/non-hybrid) species are not totally replaced. Look at us humans, I am always fascinated by hybrids !! With birds, can't stop them flying so I guess, mixes are bound to occur...also with global warming and changes to weather patterns, birds will start moving and finding new homes. As you say, we should probably enjoy them and guess what's going to come next !
beautiful and bizarre,i have a similar spotting of a hibrid mallard in my area tha is very similar to this one,and Emma as one to in Califórnia and your in austrália,it´s funny but at same time scarry,imagine in a few decades we will lose many species because of the hibridization,it's a unstopble process,awever i love hibrids species,i dont know why :)
Liam, thanks for your observation and suggestion. I will amend this spotting to a Mallard hybrid as per your suggestion. thanks again !
This isn't a pure Mallard. I highly suspect this is a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) x Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides) hybrid.
There aren't many wild Mallards in Australia; most are of domestic descent or hybrids.
Here is a pure Mallard: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/741...
And here is a Shelduck x Mallard hybrid. Not an Australian Shelduck, but a close relative: http://www.flickr.com/groups/hybridbirds...