works pond

wildwatcher · #1 (**permalink**) 21-09-2009, 09:39 AM

I bet you’re all sorry I found this site! But I’ve lived by this pond for 40 years and I see ducks now which I have never seen before, must be the sign of the times. Two more to identify pleas I think one may be a mottled duck?

aeshna5 · #2 (**permalink**) 21-09-2009, 04:52 PM

He's a domestic Mallard. Mottled Duck is a species found in some of the southern US states/Mexico + never recorded in the UK. Some authorities do consider it a race of Mallard though. Florida is a good place to see it.

wildwatcher · #3 (**permalink**) 21-09-2009, 05:41 PM

Hi I’m surprised you think it’s a mallard it was twice the size of the mallard in front! Any idea what the two are in the other photo.

aeshna5 · #4 (**permalink**) 21-09-2009, 06:26 PM

They are all forms of Mallard, some with domestic genes. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks apart from the Muscovy Duck. The domestic forms vary incredibly in size, shape + colour- some have been selectively bred for meat, others for eggs + others for ornament.