Tuesday, December 7, 2010

"Manky Mallard " on World Bird Wednesday

A couple of days ago I was driving past an old isolated beaver pond  when I saw what looked like a lone pale pinkish duck on the water. On its head sat a fluffy kind of pom-pom. A new species of duck? A vagrant? A reportable rarity? For a few moments visions of glory floated through my head, the kind of glory that only a birder would comprehend.

I rolled down the window and tried to get a picture but the duck had quickly moved out my field of vision. So I slowly got out of car in order not to alarm it. No to worry however, as soon as I stood up the duck paddled toward me and to my great surprise scrambled up the embankment onto the dirt road.  He quacked a couple of times and stretched his neck toward me, as if expecting a hand-out. Yet as I approached him he flew back into the water.

I am saying "he" because, despite his apricot pink color and poodle-like top knot, he looked like a male mallard. The bill was the same yellow color, the neck and head an iridescent green and his tail coverts curled up just as in a male mallard.



Here is a close-up






It was pretty obvious to me that he was an escapee, but from where? Nobody in the immediate area that I know of had ducks as pets. Was it a leucistic variant perhaps or an hybrid or a special domestic breed?

I did some research and came up with an article by Charlie in the 10,000 Birds, titled "Manky Mallards" (domestic, feral or just plan odd  mallards) It contains many photos of these odd looking ducks which are not hybrids but 100% mallards, the result of selective breeding.

The "crest" gene is a dominant mutation that can be bred into most any duck. It's associated with a deformityy of the skull. The gene is also causing partial infertility.

Quoting  from another website on the history: Crested ducks have a wonderful regal air about them. There are reasonably good layers but mostly kept for pets. Crested ducks have been around for a long time and feature in art dating back over 2,000 years.

Well, this morning I checked the pond: The water had frozen over and I was glad to see that the duck did not sit locked in the ice but had been smart enough to take to the air.

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19 comments:

  1. That certainly looks like one mixed-up bird! Great photos.

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  2. A nice bit of investigative journalism on your handsome mallard. great photos too.

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  3. Well researched! What a fascinating abnormality. Your expert powers of observation and quick trigger finger make for a unique post. Great, detailed photography doesn't hurt either!
    ;-)WBW

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  4. I would have simply said that he got a fight with another of its kind ;-) Nice investigation and funny pictures ;-)

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  5. Great to see you back in business and with such an interesting subject. I thought you were going to say the duck had something stuck to him, so even the end surpised me. Great story and photo. Boom & Gary.

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  6. I am so glad you researched this mallard - fascinating.Your pics on the previous post will hopefully get me motivated to get down to Turners and elsewhere. Seems when I get the necessary tasks done (too many of them) I just can't get up and go. Good photos of the goldeneyes, esp in flight.

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  7. Interesting top-knot!! Well captured and researched Hilke.

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  8. ...a Manky Mallard! How very cool! I've only seen a mallard with a topknot once. I'd like to see another!

    p.s. You won a surprise on the giveaway!

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  9. I've never seen a mallard with a topknot. That's awesome! Glad he got away before the ice got him!

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  10. Thanks for sharing the photos and the stories. That crest looks very strange to me - and that one would breed it in very strange... I've never heard of these things before.

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  11. Hmmm....this is one interesting duck. Thanks for sharing the super photos and your research about him.

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  12. Oh cool! We have a white domestic duck at our local park that has a tuft like that. Thanks for the info!!

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  13. I have never seen such a duck. It's fantastic and your shots are great!

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  14. Fascinating. Never knew about the breeding for a crest. Great research.

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  15. Thank you all for your comments; I guess you would have been all as surprised as I was. Actually I have photo of a Canada Goose with a similar head tuft- So this mutation doesn't seem so rare.

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  16. Chris Petrak, thanks for your comment on my previous post. I went again today: icy wind!! and not much to see. Just wanted to mention: the bridge into Turner's Falls is one way due to construction. You have to make a detour through Greenfield on your way back. It's a hassle.

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  17. Interesting stuff and nice photos. What a strange looking duck!

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  18. It is amazing what has been done to the poor Mallard. I agree with you that that is likely a male.

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