Slow But Unique

[WHARFRAT]

OK! Makes sense.

[mhowerton]

I believe it is a mallard/black hybrid.

[jdmidwest]

Poor little suzy

[ness]

OK, I admittedly don't know squat about ducks. But I've never heard of hybrids. Is that something that happens? Or, could it just be a fluke/mutation?

[jdmidwest]

Its a hen mallard with a dark black crest on its head. its a form of the Black Duck, a mythical creature formed from an unholy union of a mallard and some other duck to create a duck with dark feathers and a blue spec on the wing with a yellow green bill. They are like unicorns, somewhere along the lineage of this ducks genetics, it came across a unicorn and had sex.

[jdmidwest]

Looking at the cheeks, I think a gadwall had a shot in there too.

[WHARFRAT]

Are you trying to say that mama didn't use a lot of discretion on who she hung around with?

[jdmidwest]

Not just mama, but the whole clan back a few generations.

[Bird Watcher]

Girls don't have yellow bills JD

[jdmidwest]

Girls don't have yellow bills JD

Good point, that would make that hen a drake. Or some kind of morphodite.

I have not even seen a mallard yet this year and our season is almost done. Took the week of Thanksgiving off to duck and deer hunt. Crowds were so heavy at public land, we did not get out 5 mornings. Last duck I shot was on opening day.