Help! Can't identify a duck!

[cerrys]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and have found this excellent forum after a frustrating afternoon online trying to find a picture of a beautiful duck I saw when I was out on a walk the other day.

The duck was quite large - bigger than a Mallard, but smaller than a Canada Goose. It had a red head and a short neck, with a crest of grey feathers tipped with white. It was on the water and appeared to be quite a sturdy duck, not slim like a Grebe. The plumage on the body was grey - a lovely shade of what I would call dove grey, and white. The feathers were more tufty than sleek. It's not a Redhead, and I didn't get a good look at the beak as it seemed to be taking a bath in the pond. It was the only one of it's type amongst a load of Mallards, Geese and Swans and seemed quite comfortable!

If anyone at all has any idea of what this mysterious duck could be, please let me know.

Thanks!

[Tursiops]

Hi cerrys, welcome to the forum.

Wigeon comes to mind, although the size doesn't sound right:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...age-8711.html:
or maybe Egyptian goose:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...mage-8914.html

There are so many escapees, mutant mallards and duck / goose hybrids floating around the country, it's hard to say without a photo. What part of the country was this?

HTH
Tursiops

[Wild-Woman]

Hello cerrys and a very warm welcome to WAB.
In your post you sadi that the duck has a red head. Is that proper red, browny red? It may help id if you can liken it to something eg strawberry red, brick red. Hope you don't mind me suggesting this then we'll all do a id search for you. ww

[Wild-Woman]

Female goosander perhaps?

[Tornado]

Hi Cerrys and welcome to WAB, the only duck I can imagine it to be other than Wild Womans Wigeon, is a Pochard. But, as already been stated it is very difficult without a pic.
Tornado.

[canonman]

HI
A warm welcome to WAB.
some ducks are hard to Id, any chance you could take a picture next time your out.
That's if the little darling is still there
Mick

[scholesy]

Theres only two ducks of a similar description and size that i can think of at moment. Both have a redish crest and greyish body.
Wild-Woman has mentioned one of them, a female goosander:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...mage-7197.html

the other would be a female red-breasted merganser:
http://www.stevenround-birdphotograp...0Merganser.htm

The merganser is more of a marine bird but does nest by lakes and rivers.

Is your mystery bird one of the above?

[cerrys]

Hi

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, but I found out what the little beauty was just an hour after posting my message yesterday. Our gardener at work is a bit of a nature enthusiast, so I asked him and it turns out all my questing around for a wild duck match was in vain - it's a domestic duck called a muscovy, which apparently has a habit of escaping from farms/smallholdings etc. There are a couple of farms quite close to my walk site - Yeadon Tarn in Leeds - and so it's probably flown off from one of them.

So, mystery solved! Thanks again for all your help.