Mallards

[brenbee]

Last year, while walking on our local river bank, I was lucky 2 see a family of Mallards high & dry at low tide. The ducklings were snuggled together. notjing spectacular about that, I hear you say. But among the little brownish chicks was 1 lovely cream baby. Today I saw It again, all grown up with a couple of Its siblings. What I want to know Is-- Is this a regular occurance or a 1off? & what causes It. I'm sure 1 of you WABs will know the answer.

[earthdragon64]

I don't know the answer, but I saw something similar last year as well. It was quite late in the summer on Loch Morlich, and amongst a group of 'normal' coloured Mallard ducklings was one yellow one.

[brenbee]

Thats interesting! Maybe mum was just playing away. eh?

[Gill Catton]

there are many domestic duck breeds (descended from mallards) that are all sorts of colours often colours typical of their breed due to selective breeding (eg kaki campbell ducks are always a fudgy beige colour like dalmatians are always spotty). these birds often get out into the wild and interbreed with mallards which then can result in odd coloured offspring to seemingly normal coloured adults.
However, odd colours do also occur in nature too with washed out colours or extra dark brds turning up from time to time. (after all white ducks or cream ducks could not exist in domestic breeds if such 'peculiar' colours didn't ocassionally occur in nature).

[Mungo]

"I'm a swan, I'm a swan"


I'll get me coat....

[wyevilla]

Last year at Centre Parcs, Longleat, we were lodging next to a pond. When we arrived, there was a family of mallards. Mum and Dad were traditional Mallard clouring but as for their offspring - 4 brown ducklings & 4 yelow ones.

On the second morning we watched a heron arrive in the vicinity. Thereafter, each day saw one less duckling. This went on until the day we left. There were only 4 ducklings left - all brown.

Now admittedly, we never saw the heron take a baby duck: but, whoever was the culprit, it reminded me of the the Peppered Moth experiments of the 50s. Without doubt the yellow babies were much more notieable especially at dusk and dawn.

Preferential predation or are yellow ducklings more sickly?

[Gill Catton]

a heron will happily take ducklings (from an aerial attack too) and I imagine that yellow ducklings are more obvious against the water coloured background (which is so often brown in the UK!)