ID ??? (pics included)

[hobbydog]

I know my ducks pretty good but have no clue on this one. Has to be a farm duck or some odd cross. She flew in with some mallards and sounded like a hen mallard. Some pretty cool feathering. Any ideas?

[Steve Foss]

I think you're right. A lot of so-called "farm" ducks, like the ones I grew up around, have mallard shape and mallard call, even if they don't have mallard plumage. Some are pure white, others are different colors, like this one.

[Nymph]

This looks to be a mallard hybrid. Cross between a mallard and a pintail. Taking on mostof the male pintail colors. These crossings are not uncommon but are a rarity to see.

[Tom Wilson]

Hobby,

This is a Muscovy hybrid cross. The Muscovy duck can range in color from pure black, to pure white, with every combination of black, white and grey, between the two shades. When released into the wild, either by choice or accident, they will often become more wild than domesticated. They will also breed quite often with mallards--according to the info that I found, Mallards seem to be the only wild ducks that they interbreed with, and even at that, it's not that often. This one does appear to have some Mallard in it (note the color on the bill and the distinct Mallard shaped head). Judging by the size I would say that this one has been bred by a wild Mallard. Often you will see these where they are crossed with a roan, and it would be quite a bit bigger than the wild ducks around it. Nice ID capture by the way.

Tom W

[Steve Foss]

Hey Nymph, welcome to the forum. Good to have you here.

[buzzsaw]

Nice job on the duck ID Tom!!

[Dotch]

Having raised muscovy's as a lad I gotta believe you're right on the money Tom. I didn't much care for muscovy's because they always left piles of doo-doo under the baler and all over the yard for that matter when I needed to replace the broken pick-up teeth but I digress. I looked at Hobby's pics a long time and in particular at the bill, it's shape & the way the bill connects to the head. The bill is more blunt and less streamlined than a mallard's if one looks at the pics posted here and elsewhere. Something about that head/bill connection looked familiar too but couldn't quite place it. When muscovy's are young they are capable of flight but after they reach full size, only the hens will fly.