BirdNrd 478 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Seen today in Morro Bay, CA today. I have more pics if needed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hbvol50 814 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 American Pipit is correct Pass on the duck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Bird Nuts 4,585 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I'm guessing the duck is an intersex Mallard. I don't see anything that suggests hybrid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
von Humboldt 49 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 I agree with the Bird Nuts. What's interesting about that duck is the bill. Intersex plumage mallards are usually females with old or injured ovaries. The bill is usually clearly female but that bird is the first I've seen with an "intersex bill" 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IKLland 584 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 13 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said: I'm guessing the duck is an intersex Mallard. I don't see anything that suggests hybrid. I want to say domestic mallard. No white eye ring rules out hybrid, oh I remember me asking tooooooo many questions in that topic..... American pipit is correct for bird one Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelLong 436 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 The thing that has me wondering is a faint green wash in the ducks bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
von Humboldt 49 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 6 hours ago, MichaelLong said: The thing that has me wondering is a faint green wash in the ducks bill I believe that bill is an example of an intersex mallard i.e. it has color characteristics intermediate of the male and the female. The mallard female's lack of estrogen causes the dominant male pattern of color in the plumage and other body parts to appear to some degree (in some birds it's the male's lack of testosterone that causes intermediate plumage). In mallards, it's not that rare to see this phenomenon to some extent. I haven't seen one where the female's orange and black bill has been turned almost as yellow as a males bill, with only a little orange and a few speckles of black "bleeding" through. However, that's what appears to have happened here. Here is a picture I found googling "intersex mallard" that has a bill that seems to have a diminished amount of black and a yellowish tint especially at the base. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68000324 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Bird Nuts 4,585 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) 8 hours ago, IKLland said: I want to say domestic mallard. No white eye ring rules out hybrid, oh I remember me asking tooooooo many questions in that topic..... No, domestic Mallards can have white eyerings. Google Indian Runner Duck; it's one breed that I found often has eyerings. Sorry about the confusion I caused. Edited January 22 by The Bird Nuts 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BirdNrd 478 Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 Reviewer said either female losing estrogen or intersex. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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