Posted by Charles Gangas on December 5, 2010 at 11:54 PM
I found this guy last week on the Whitefish River in Kalispell Montana. Not certain what it is but my guess is some kind of mallard hybred.
Thanks for the assistance.
Posted by Drew Fulton on December 6, 2010 at 12:28 AM
Chuck,
This is certainly an odd Mallard. If it is a hybrid, I'm not sure what the cross is. I typically see American Black Duck x Mallard hybrids and this is not that. I don't see any characteristics that lead me to another species either. Could be some sort of strange domestic cross as those can be pretty variable but nothing I have ever seen before.
Instead of it being a hybrid, I wonder if it is simply a bird with a problem. The feathers on the head look very bare. The coloration on the back is strange and it appears to be holding its wings very oddly. The latter could just be an odd motion caught in a photo but instead of being a hybrid I wonder if there is either a disease that is causing the feathers to fall out, deteriorate, or something else. I suppose it could also be some weird mutation but if that is the case I don't think this bird would ever make it to adult. If you are a duck and have deteriorated feathers then you lose a lot of function from flight to staying dry to staying warm to finding a mate.
The final option might be injury. It could have lost those feathers during some sort of predator attack or possibly even a violent mating encounter. After all, Rape has been documented in ducks, particularly mallards though I'm not exactly sure how one determines that.
Bottom line, I don't have a clue what is going on with this bird but I doubt it is a hybrid. I'm leaning towards disease but am curious to see what others say.
Drew
Posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 6, 2010 at 8:04 PM
Hybrids in ducks take on so many plumage forms that it is impossible to see or discribe them all. Not sure this is a hybrid, but the way this bird is holding its wings low in the water is a very typical sign of sickness.
Discussion
2 repliesThanks for the assistance.
This is certainly an odd Mallard. If it is a hybrid, I'm not sure what the cross is. I typically see American Black Duck x Mallard hybrids and this is not that. I don't see any characteristics that lead me to another species either. Could be some sort of strange domestic cross as those can be pretty variable but nothing I have ever seen before.
Instead of it being a hybrid, I wonder if it is simply a bird with a problem. The feathers on the head look very bare. The coloration on the back is strange and it appears to be holding its wings very oddly. The latter could just be an odd motion caught in a photo but instead of being a hybrid I wonder if there is either a disease that is causing the feathers to fall out, deteriorate, or something else. I suppose it could also be some weird mutation but if that is the case I don't think this bird would ever make it to adult. If you are a duck and have deteriorated feathers then you lose a lot of function from flight to staying dry to staying warm to finding a mate.
The final option might be injury. It could have lost those feathers during some sort of predator attack or possibly even a violent mating encounter. After all, Rape has been documented in ducks, particularly mallards though I'm not exactly sure how one determines that.
Bottom line, I don't have a clue what is going on with this bird but I doubt it is a hybrid. I'm leaning towards disease but am curious to see what others say.
Drew