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Project Noah Nature School
Anas platyrhynchos
The Mallard is such a common duck but this little lady seems to have lost her darker pigmentation. We spotted the ducks on the Jordan River in Utah Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.
Spotted on Apr 8, 2015
Submitted on Apr 8, 2015
4 Comments
I just ran into an article that called this a form of "domestic mallard".
Domestics are always hanging out with Mallards, in fact I can't recall them ever hanging out with any other species unless Mallards are there too. But like I said on Machi's spotting, I'm really not sure how to tell a buff duck from a leucistic Mallard. Very pretty whatever they are!
Machi - thanks for this information. I had no idea of the domestic breed. Just wondering why it would hook up with a mallard in both of our pictures. Hmmmmmm
Ashley T and I had a conversation about my similar spotting http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/132... I believe you may also have a Buff Duck, rather than a leucistic Mallard.