• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Female Redhead? (in flight photo attached) (1 Viewer)

Bummer - I thought the bill was much to dark for a female Mallard. I've seen them hundreds of times but this one didn't seem to jive with Mallard. It also flew with much more rapid wingbeats then I am used to seeing with Mallards (which is why I even bothered to take its photo). Well, that's why I didn't tick it :D

THanks for weighing in on this one!
 
Looks more like an American Black Duck to me, with its pale wing linings contrasting so much with the dark flanks. That would explain the darker bill too.
 
Hmm... I sincerely doubt it. Black Ducks are a DARK, chocolatey-black color. This bird is too pale to be a Black Duck. The bird appears to be slightly backlight, so that could explain why it appears so dark. The wing-linings seem well within the range of Mallard. Also, Black Ducks have pale heads and necks which contrast startingly with their underparts. I do not see strong contrast on this bird.
 
I agree with BrownCreeper. There appears to be a white lining on the wings, and there should be none with an American Black Duck. The bill also looks more orange on my monitor than the olive/yellow I'd expect with a Black Duck.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 18 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top