Unidentified duck

[Nicola Christine]

Please can anyone identify this young duck (it is not the normal colouring for a female mallard, having a much greyer head). Could it be a young female American blue-winged teal?

[Tiggrx]

I think it is a female Mandarin Duck

[faz]

femal mandarin

[Nicola Christine]

Thank you very much for your identification. Yes, I am sure you are right - she was a female mandarin duck (I had only seen the males before). She stayed with us for a day, sitting by the koi pond. She appeared to be having a rest. Can't think where she had come from. We often have mallards nesting in the garden, but never seen a mandarin before. Any idea why she suddenly appeared? She was very tame.

[animartco]

Nicola, is that a blue feather in her wing? Mandarin ducks don't have colour. and the markings look a bit too stripey. She is obviously closely related to mandarin, possibly a sport? Did you find out where she came from? I hope she has been taken into safe custody poor little thing. It is likely that she was pinioned and unable to fly.
If anyone finds a bird they think might belong to someone they should inform the police in case the owner is looking for it. You would report a stray cat or dog wouldn't you?

[aeshna5]

The duck can fly- from the photo you can see if you look carefully it's not pinioned. Almost certainly a wild (naturalised) bird + looking perfectly healthy.

Remember at the moment the drakes are in eclipse plumage so can resemble females.

Agree with others it is a Mandarin.

[solus]

Originally Posted by animartco

Nicola, is that a blue feather in her wing? Mandarin ducks don't have colour.

Yes, they do - Mandarin has a greenish-blue speculum, exactly as in the OP's photograph.

It looks like a perfectly normal Mandarin, possibly tamer than some if it comes from a park lake where it is used to people chucking bread at it and its fellow Mallards!