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Strange duck ! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Fabricius
- Start date
There are slight Baikal teal vibes about this bird. Often a sign of some hybrid history. Against that the white breast is a good domestic duck pointer.
Weird thing all in.
Weird thing all in.
I wouldn't have said so: your birds' bill is pretty mallardy, unlike the OP's bird's.
Joe H
Well-known member
I agree, regarding the bill.
From Wikipedia: In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction.
You can find similar definitions in many sources.
Thank you everyone for your inputs.
There are no farm around this lake, but the bird could have escaped and flown from miles away maybe..
I first thought it looked a bit like a french "sarcelle d'hiver" (Eurasian teal, Annas crecca), specially with the tuft at the back of the head and because of some green colors/reflections on the head, but the color of the body and the breast show other origins.
I understand that this duck has probably domestic origins.
For info, there are a lot of Eurasian teal , Common pochards and mallards on this lake...
What do you mean by O.P's bird ?
There are no farm around this lake, but the bird could have escaped and flown from miles away maybe..
I first thought it looked a bit like a french "sarcelle d'hiver" (Eurasian teal, Annas crecca), specially with the tuft at the back of the head and because of some green colors/reflections on the head, but the color of the body and the breast show other origins.
I understand that this duck has probably domestic origins.
For info, there are a lot of Eurasian teal , Common pochards and mallards on this lake...
What do you mean by O.P's bird ?
Welsh Peregrine
Well-known member
O.P. - original poster, therefore OPs bird means the specific bird mentioned at the start of the thread
payaminotom
Well-known member
I'm struggling to tell size from this photo, but to me the anatomical proportions look way more Eurasian Teal than Mallard. The head shape, size and position of the eye, as well as the bill all scream Teal to me, not forgetting the fact that male Teal often have a tuft at the back of the neck, which this individual also possesses. The plumage, however, for sure implies that a Domestic Mallard played a part in this birds creation. My guess would be a Domestic Mallard fathered a child to a female Eurasian Teal.
stevethehydra
Well-known member
A very interesting bird! I hope Joern Lehmus can weigh in, but my thoughts:
- Its plumage is very similar to the "bibbed" type of domestic Mallard, if anything between a typical male and female of that type. It's hard to believe that that isn't one of its parents - unless the same mutation that causes that colour pattern could spontaneously occur in another species???
- I don't think it can be entirely domestic Mallard, despite how variable they are - "jizz" and proportions just look wrong, too "small" and delicate looking, particularly the thin bill, and that "tuft" at the back of the head (which combined in the second pic make it almost look like a Hooded Merganser, though I'm not seriously suggesting that species is involved!)
- The "tuft" makes me wonder about Tufted Duck parentage, but I've never personally seen a Mallard x Tufted hybrid, and the only photos I have seen of one are these, which don't look structurally much like this bird: Mallard x Tufted Duck (despite how commonly the species occur together, and how frequently both hybridise with closer relatives, they don't seem very interested in each other!)
- There is a vague resemblance to Eurasian Teal, so I'm leaning towards domestic ("bibbed" type) Mallard x Teal as others have suggested. Though photos of that hybrid don't seem to show such a thin bill either: Mallard x Eurasian Teal
Fabricius, what was your impression of the size of this bird? Were there other ducks(/coots/gulls/etc) around for comparison?
- Its plumage is very similar to the "bibbed" type of domestic Mallard, if anything between a typical male and female of that type. It's hard to believe that that isn't one of its parents - unless the same mutation that causes that colour pattern could spontaneously occur in another species???
- I don't think it can be entirely domestic Mallard, despite how variable they are - "jizz" and proportions just look wrong, too "small" and delicate looking, particularly the thin bill, and that "tuft" at the back of the head (which combined in the second pic make it almost look like a Hooded Merganser, though I'm not seriously suggesting that species is involved!)
- The "tuft" makes me wonder about Tufted Duck parentage, but I've never personally seen a Mallard x Tufted hybrid, and the only photos I have seen of one are these, which don't look structurally much like this bird: Mallard x Tufted Duck (despite how commonly the species occur together, and how frequently both hybridise with closer relatives, they don't seem very interested in each other!)
- There is a vague resemblance to Eurasian Teal, so I'm leaning towards domestic ("bibbed" type) Mallard x Teal as others have suggested. Though photos of that hybrid don't seem to show such a thin bill either: Mallard x Eurasian Teal
Fabricius, what was your impression of the size of this bird? Were there other ducks(/coots/gulls/etc) around for comparison?
Joern Lehmhus
Well-known member
It is what they call "sarcelle a bavette" in France
a "domestic" hybrid from France involving Eurasian Teal, call ducks (domestic dwarf variant of mallard, can have several different colors ), yellowbilled/speckled teal (Anas flavirostris) and perhaps also Greenwinged Teal.
As far as I know they were used as live decoys for duck hunting like call ducks, but some people seem to breed them also for fun.
a "domestic" hybrid from France involving Eurasian Teal, call ducks (domestic dwarf variant of mallard, can have several different colors ), yellowbilled/speckled teal (Anas flavirostris) and perhaps also Greenwinged Teal.
As far as I know they were used as live decoys for duck hunting like call ducks, but some people seem to breed them also for fun.
stevethehydra
Well-known member
Wow, never heard of those before! There doesn't seem to be much info about them in English.
Are they a "stabilised" breed, i.e. fertile and can be bred between themselves preserving the same phenotype?
Interestingly the first 3 photos you link to look (to me) more similar to Eurasian/Green-winged Teal, domestic Mallard, and Yellow-billed/Sharp-winged Teal respectively.
Are they a "stabilised" breed, i.e. fertile and can be bred between themselves preserving the same phenotype?
Interestingly the first 3 photos you link to look (to me) more similar to Eurasian/Green-winged Teal, domestic Mallard, and Yellow-billed/Sharp-winged Teal respectively.
Joern Lehmhus
Well-known member
I don´t think they are a stabilized breed as they are very variable ....but they are certainly fertile and most look widely similar ....
Thanks for your reply, and very sorry for my very late reply..
It was quite a small duck (I would say something between a mallard and an eurasian teal)
I thought a Anas and an Aytha could not "give birth" to a viable duck, but by reading several replies, it seems I was wrong..
Thank you for your post ! I never hear about this "sarcelle à bavette", but it is very very similar to the one I have photographed..
I could not get a reply from any of my "french bird contacts", so it seems you know local ducks better than they do
Thanks again.
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