Kind of Duck Question
Jan 8, 2013 10:02:42 #
MCHUGH
Loc: Jacksonville, Texas
We have this duck that is at the lake we live on. I thought at first it was a Mallard, but it seems too big. I looked on line at several sights and did not find it. Hope some in the group can tell me. I am sending a couple of photos: one of him alone and one of him with other ducks that I think are Mallard. You will notice he is about twice as big as the other ducks. I am sorry that the quality is not better, but age, and in a boat moving up and down and rocking and moving subject really show up.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Big duck
Big duck and friends
Jan 8, 2013 10:17:44 #
He sure is a big fellah ain't he! Well I know my English wild-fowl and the little ones are definitely Mallard. I'll have to do some research!
P.S. The quality is just fine, #1 is nice and sharp.
P.S. The quality is just fine, #1 is nice and sharp.
Jan 8, 2013 11:29:42 #
Jan 8, 2013 11:55:38 #
MCHUGH
Loc: Jacksonville, Texas
Bret wrote:
Kinda looks like an Australian mountain duck...maybe send it in for an ID.
Thanks for the suggestion about being a Australian mountain duck. I Googled it and though it is similar I think there are too many differences for it to be an Australian mountain duck. He would sure have been a long way from home on a lake in East Texas where I live.
Jan 8, 2013 11:59:09 #
MCHUGH
Loc: Jacksonville, Texas
farmerjim wrote:
He sure is a big fellah ain't he! Well I know my English wild-fowl and the little ones are definitely Mallard. I'll have to do some research!
P.S. The quality is just fine, #1 is nice and sharp.
P.S. The quality is just fine, #1 is nice and sharp.
If his bill was shaped like a goose I would think his mom had mated with a wild goose.
Thanks for the comment about the quality being fine. I really normally do better.
Jan 8, 2013 12:01:26 #
Good probability that it a Mallard Hybrid of some sort, possibly a mallard x black duck? Mallards are known to crossbreed with a number of other duck species.
Jan 8, 2013 12:06:06 #
MCHUGH wrote:
If his bill was shaped like a goose I would think his mom had mated with a wild goose.
Thanks for the comment about the quality being fine. I really normally do better.
farmerjim wrote:
He sure is a big fellah ain't he! Well I know my English wild-fowl and the little ones are definitely Mallard. I'll have to do some research!
P.S. The quality is just fine, #1 is nice and sharp.
P.S. The quality is just fine, #1 is nice and sharp.
If his bill was shaped like a goose I would think his mom had mated with a wild goose.
Thanks for the comment about the quality being fine. I really normally do better.
If it is a mallard x goose hybrid, is it then referred to as a "guck"?
Jan 8, 2013 12:07:25 #
Could be a hybrid of that....not sure a black duck is that large. This guy is about the size of a goose. Also mite have been a captive bird...that got loose.
Jan 8, 2013 12:11:05 #
MCHUGH
Loc: Jacksonville, Texas
Photographer Jim wrote:
Good probability that it a Mallard Hybrid of some sort, possibly a mallard x black duck? Mallards are known to crossbreed with a number of other duck species.
Had not though about it being a hybrid. Guess it is possible.
Jan 8, 2013 12:11:11 #
I'll go with that Jim, I've searched for about half an hour with no luck.
I think its a hybrid, Mallard x ???
I did find a pic of a Mallard X Muscovy that had the same reddish breast.
I think its a hybrid, Mallard x ???
I did find a pic of a Mallard X Muscovy that had the same reddish breast.
mallard x Muscovy
Jan 8, 2013 12:39:17 #
It is an escaped domestic mallard or a wild/domestic cross. Domestics, even white ones are often from Mallard stock and are bred to be large.
Jan 8, 2013 15:43:30 #
MCHUGH
Loc: Jacksonville, Texas
birdpix wrote:
It is an escaped domestic mallard or a wild/domestic cross. Domestics, even white ones are often from Mallard stock and are bred to be large.
There are some domestic ducks on the lake but none this big.
Jan 8, 2013 16:52:19 #
MCHUGH wrote:
There are some domestic ducks on the lake but none this big.
birdpix wrote:
It is an escaped domestic mallard or a wild/domestic cross. Domestics, even white ones are often from Mallard stock and are bred to be large.
There are some domestic ducks on the lake but none this big.
This probably is a mallard x muscovy duck hybrid which is becoming common. Muscovy's are a common domestic duck that has extablished some feral populations. The muscovy is almost 3x the weight of the mallard, hence the large size. Mallards interbreed with many other ducks resulting in a bewildering array of colors, patterns and sizes that often have no seeming relationship to the parentage. Ducks of many breeds have been domesticated for thousands of years and were interbred for a variety of traits. There are always escapees who join with wild populations and interbreed. Something like this example can be a throwback from some genes introduced generations ago.
Check out this flckr site:http://www.flickr.com/groups/hybridbirds/discuss/72157602472617276/
Jan 8, 2013 17:27:21 #
MCHUGH
Loc: Jacksonville, Texas
birdpix wrote:
quote=MCHUGH quote=birdpix It is an escaped dome... (show quote)
Thanks birdpix. I went to the site you suggested and the one shown at the Oconaluftee River, North Carolina taken by Carolina Waterfowl Rescue and the one at Caldicot Castle (Monmouthshire, UK) are my duck. Thanks so much for the help. As always UHH comes to the rescue. There is always someone on this site that can answer any question asked by anyone regardless of the subject.
Mack
Jan 9, 2013 06:40:48 #
MCHUGH wrote:
We have this duck that is at the lake we live on. ... (show quote)
t looks like a Teal which is a large duck. Not a hunter but I've heard hunter say that they are about 2 times the size of a mallard
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