[Joern Lehmhus]

Hi all,
while searching some photos of yellowbilled duck x mallard hybrids I found the following photos. Can anybody , especially South Africans who have to deal with the problem of hybridization YBduck x introduced Mallard, give information if orange legs in Yellowbilled duck are a sign that the specimen in question has a mallard ancestor?

YELLOWBILLED DUCK (Anas undulata)


Hybrids with mallard
1.same photo on different links

http://www.exzooberance.com/virtual%...k%20268012.jpg

http://www.fotosearch.com/CPH223/268012/

2.another hybrid:

http://www.photographersdirect.com/b...imageid=490912

3.and a third hybrid:

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Af...photo23356.htm

pure:
http://www.birdforum.net/bird_view.php?bid=9686

http://www.photographersdirect.com/b...imageid=490945

http://www.photographersdirect.com/b...imageid=306045


Also of interest:
PACIFIC BLACK DUCK (Anas superciliosa)


Hybrid with mallard:
http://www.aviceda.org/abid/search.p...8&keyword=duck


pure Birds:
http://www.aviceda.org/abid/search.p...0&keyword=duck

http://www.aviceda.org/abid/search.p...6&keyword=duck

Among other ID features orange legs in PBD also seem to be a feature of hybrids...
or can both pure Pacific Black Duck and Yellow Billed Duck in rare cases show orange legs?

[Vinch]

Hello Jörn,
Possible hybrid Pacific Black Duck X Mallard, because of orange legs.:
http://www.oiseaux.net/photos/neil.f...ourcils.1.html
http://pancho.cahlander.com/website/...ack_Duck-1.htm , because of orange legs.

Possible hybrid Pacific Black Duck X mallard, because of purplish speculum.:
http://stockerphotos.home.comcast.ne...Slarne5862.htm

Possible hybrid Pacific X Mallard, because of head and body pattern:
http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/nad...nimalType=Bird



Pacific Black Duck X mallard ducklings:
http://photogallery.canberrabirds.or...ard_Harris.jpg
http://zoo.8866.org/jingpin/gjsys2001.asp?notepage=23

About mallard complex...
http://www.nicksworldofwaterfowl.com/Duck/mallard.html

About hybridization threat...
http://www.wwt.org.uk/threatsp/hybrid/threat.htm

[Dimitris]

Originally Posted by Joern Lehmhus

Among other ID features orange legs in PBD also seem to be a feature of hybrids...
or can both pure Pacific Black Duck and Yellow Billed Duck in rare cases show orange legs?

Hi Joern and others

I can only speak about Paciffic and I can say that they can have quite bright orange leggs quite often and it can be enchanced by the light etc. But it usualy dosen't get any brighter then this(see pic.Apolgies for terrible quality.I got this birds in the yard and didn't want to spook it.). Sometimes however you can get birds that have really bright leggs but wether these are pure or have some Mallard genes in them you cannot tell.(remember my hybrid or backcross?)

Cheers,

Dimitris

[Joern Lehmhus]

Hi Vincent, Hi Dimitris,thanks for your answers.
The main difficulty is that there are some photos on the web which show Yellowbilled duck or Pacific black duck with either bright orange or dull orange legs. As far as I know orange legs are considered to be a sign of hybridism with mallard.

But can all these specimen of the 2 species that have orange legs be considered as genetically impure birds ?
or does that not nessecarily imply that a mallard was among their ancestors?

(The alternative being that at least those with dull orange legs may be some natural variant of the yellow billed duck and the pacifick black duck?)

Maybe there are some people from South Africa or Australia who can comment this?

[Dimitris]

Originally Posted by Joern Lehmhus

Hi Vincent, Hi Dimitris,thanks for your answers.
The main difficulty is that there are some photos on the web which show Yellowbilled duck or Pacific black duck with either bright orange or dull orange legs. As far as I know orange legs are considered to be a sign of hybridism with mallard.

But can all these specimen of the 2 species that have orange legs be considered as genetically impure birds ?
or does that not nessecarily imply that a mallard was among their ancestors?

(The alternative being that at least those with dull orange legs may be some natural variant of the yellow billed duck and the pacifick black duck?)

Maybe there are some people from South Africa or Australia who can comment this?

Hi Joern,

In all my trips in Australia MOST P.B.D had orangey leggs. A few had the normal greenish leggs.t one point I was convinced that all/most the birds I was seeing were hybrids or had Mallard genes in them.However apart from the legg colour all of the other features were fine (normal plumage,normal speculum,clear face etc.). So I decided in the end that these birds are just variants.

Cheers,

Dimitris