The unidentifiables
Wednesday December 13, 2006 at 4:09 pm
[you'd never believe how difficult it is to identify some birds; it's almost as hard as identifying insects . . . but not quite; suffice it to say I was never able to determine the species of these two waterfowl; it's possible the darker one is a hybrid (mallard x black?), but I'm guessing at that; the white one could be a white mallard (who'd ever heard of such a thing!), but again I'm guessing; I don't believe either of those guesses given the size of these birds (at least half again as large as a normal mallard), although I could be wrong; if you have any ideas on what they are, please speak up; what I think I know is that the white one is a female and the dark one is a male]
[Update] I have since identified the white duck as a pekin duck (a.k.a. domestic duck, white pekin duck, or Long Island duck; Anas domesticus).
jason
Comments
Leave a Comment
Please note:- Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your post. There is no need to resubmit.
- Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
- Your e-mail address is never displayed or shared, so provide a real one.
- Line and paragraph breaks are automatic.
- All comments are subject to the rules.
- Your browser must supply valid user-agent and referrer data.
- XHTML available:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
December 13th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
How do you tell if a duck is a boy or a girl?
December 13th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
When it comes to ducks, much of it is plumage coloration. Look at this photo for an example of mallard gender colors. Like most species, birds have distinct variations that differentiate male from female (e.g. with insects, females tend to be much larger and more brilliantly painted; with birds, males tend to be larger and more brilliantly painted; with cats, males tend to be larger—and in some cases, like the lion, adorned in a way that differentiates them; and on it goes).
So, basic biology class aside, there’s one more thing that can indicate the gender of ducks: tail feathers. See the curly little feather on the dark duck’s ass? Drakes (male ducks) often acquire those little wavy decorations as they age; hens (female ducks) do not.
BTW, I learned that while growing up when we had pet ducks.
December 15th, 2006 at 11:40 am
I’m glad you answered that one Jason. I was gonna recommend he lift the duck’s tail and feel around in his no-no area.
Quack!
December 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
When I answered that question, I pondered whether I should leave it at “tail feathers” just to see where it would go. I figured someone would wonder if that meant lifting them to take a peek—but I didn’t think someone would recommend fondling the damn things! Eew. . .
April 6th, 2008 at 8:20 am
I live in Seattle and I’ve seen a duck like that! It was quite large, as large as a domestic duck, black, but with iridescent green markings like a mallard. It’s neck was longer than a mallard, more like a goose, but it was hanging out with a group of mallards. It seemed kind of friendly and curious. It lived at Greenlake about three years ago. I have no idea what kind of duck it was, I’ve been trying to find out for quite awhile, so if you find out, I’d love to know!
April 6th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Hi, Viki! Thanks for visiting and commenting.
I’ve been investigating that duck and several others like it who live here at the lake. I’m confident it’s a mallard hybrid of some kind. My first guess is it’s a cross of a domestic mallard (maybe a blue Swedish) and a muscovy duck or a regular mallard.
That said, I’m still working on pinning down its identity—along with the identities of a wide variety of hybrids here at the lake.