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Anas platyrhynchos
this duck looks part Mallard, but not sure what else. (Male)
Lehighton Canal, PA
I understand that Mallards often hybridize with American Black ducks.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Malla...
Perhaps that's what happened here. Great photo!
That's a great picture CSM - fabulous duck and the water with it's reflections is magic.
While that is true, you can often tell which species or breed the Mallard mated with by looking at various traits of the offspring. In an example such as this, the bird looks to be pure Mallard, as it shows no traits of any other species. It could, however, have some domestic breeds in it. But after looking at the photos again, I might even say this bird doesn't even have any immediate domestic genes, but is simply a drake molting from nonbreeding plumage.
There is really no way to tell for sure what the Mallard mated with. Mallards are well known as willing to mate with a wide range of waterfowl, often domestic ducks but even some geese.
Just a Mallard Mutt drake. Any shoveler hybrid would show a prominently large bill.
Spotted on Feb 7, 2012
Submitted on Feb 11, 2012
