Mallards?

[Corey]

Today in Las Vegas at dawn. The Merlin app says these are American black ducks, but it's lied to me before.  ?  Thanks!

[Katelyn Davis]

Looks like female Mallard to me...Don't have much experience with American Black Ducks but I don't think they would have white on the tail like the ones in the picture.

 

[Charlie Spencer]

1 hour ago, Corey said:

The Merlin app says these are American black ducks

I'm not familiar with Merlin; does it ask for location?  eBird shows only a handful of Blacks on your side of the Plains, none in Nevada.  It's mystifying how it could be that far off.

[Tony Leukering]

The first is decidedly a male Mallard. The ill-lit duo are male (front) and female Mallards.

You have to make sure that Merlin knows where you are, else it sucks at ID.

[Benjamin]

Absolutely- ducks in the summer can be confusing because males can be in eclipse plumage, which is an in-between plumage which appears almost identical to the female of that species, while retaining (obviously) the male's bill color, as in the front bird.

[Corey]

I sent these photos to my phone and had Merlin ID. It says black ducks. I specified the location as Vegas, and it gave the same result. Causing me to doubt what I thought these were.  Merlin correctly ID'd the Mexican duck I saw in the same area a couple months ago and I find it incredibly accurate if I have a good photo. But not this time. ?