It appears to be a male duck (judging by the size). He's usually alone, so I have no other ducks to compare him to. He has markings that remind me of a mallard, but different. His head is dark brown (not green) and he does have the lighter band on his throat. His body is a very light tan color. He's bigger than a mallard also. I've never seen one like him. I live in South Florida and he's in the pond by my house.
2007-09-24 04:05:40 · 4 answers · asked by Ashcentricity 2 in Pets ➔ Birds
It could be a part mallard hybrid. Mallards tend to breed with other duck species, especially domestic ducks that are let wander. I have seen many brown-headed hybrid mallards mixed in with flocks of pure mallards.
This is one reason why it is illegal to let domestic animals loose. They interbred with the wild species and pollute the gene pool.
Edit - just found a website that talks about hybridization of the ducks: http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/ducks.html
"The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), which tends to hybridize more than any other duck, has hybridized with about 50 species of ducks and geese (Gray, 1958; Johnsgard, 1974)."
And here's another one with lots of photos: http://10000birds.com/hybrid-mallards.htm
2007-09-24 04:24:51 · answer #1 · answered by margecutter 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
As suggested it could be mixed with a mallard. Your possibilities of color markings are endless when you start mixing breeds.
If you want to know of purebreds that fix that description I would look up Golden Cascades. They are brown headed with a ring on the neck with a light tan body color. Khaki Campbells and Buff Orpingtons also fit part of the description but without the neck ring.
You can look up pictures of different duck breeds at www.feathersite.com. Good luck.
2007-09-24 05:07:13 · answer #2 · answered by Just Me 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sure it's not a female?.. they tend to be more drab colored and from experience are bigger..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnyde/200335233/ this is a picture of a female mallard..
Or it could be a male in "eclipse plumage".. they change color to a more drab color.. pic here:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/84/266441470_8c0899d6d0.jpg?v=0
Or maybe a Wood Duck
http://www.uwrf.edu/~kh2k/WoodDuckLDB.jpg
2007-09-24 04:10:41 · answer #3 · answered by kaijawitch 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
american black duck
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgesn/374866577/
mottled duck
http://www.windowsonnature.com/Nature_Pages/Nature_Map/Pages/Water_Birds/images/BD_Duck_Mottled.jpg
gadwall
http://www.haryana-online.com/images/Birds/FWS-Gadwall600.jpg
2007-09-24 04:24:44 · answer #4 · answered by g g 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋