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Anas platyrhynchos domesticus
This spotting is for the tan duck, not the mallard. It has a bright orange beak and legs. I am guessing it is a domestic breed, in which case it would be Anas platyrhynchos domesticus. However, I would appreciate any info on the breed or reasons for coloration. My only guesses are a buff duck or a female leucistic mallard. Though the beak is orange, I thought that might possibly be due to the leucism. I found a similar looking bird online also with a mallard http://www.duanestarrphotography.com/key...
Hunter Springs Park
Spotted on Feb 28, 2015
Submitted on Mar 3, 2015
4 Comments
I am guessing that person assumed it was a mallard because it was with a male mallard and they didn't know. Thanks for the help!
Yep! Now I'm really curious as to how it was determined in that link that the bird is a leucistic mallard versus buff duck haha
I was thinking buff too. A friend of mine had a booklet for domestic poultry breeds, and this looked the closest. So this would be Anas platyrhynchos domesticus in that case, right?
I found a duck looking exactly like the duck you have in the link, but it is called a buff duck, http://www.words4it.com/dap_photos15/wor... Domestic ducks should have curled tail feathers, but looking at photos labelled buff duck, only about half of them have curled tail feathers. I am not seeing any way to tell a buff duck from a leucistic mallard. I would personally call this a buff duck because domestics are incredibly more common than leucistic individuals, and mallards can pretty much always be seen hanging out with domestics.