20 replies to this topic

[Southerncowgirlkim]

I saw these ducks at Viera Wetlands in Eastern Florida. Thanks!

1. Blue-Winged Teals? Female and Male?



2.???



3.???



4,???




5.Blue-Winged Teal (Male, Female and Juvenile?)???




6. ???



7. ???



8. Male Blue-Winged Teal

[TheBillyPilgrim]

I think all are Blue-Winged Teal except 2 and 3, which look to be male Mottled Ducks with those bright yellow beaks.

[Parula]

1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are blue winged teals
2 and 3 are mallards
4 is a ruddy duck

[TheBillyPilgrim]

Pretty sure 4 is a female BWT, Parula. What points to Ruddy for you?

3 seems to show the characteristic black gape of a Mottled Duck. Can't make it out on 2, but that bill looks pretty bright for a female Mallard.

[Sparky the Cuttlefish]

My take on it:

1. Yup, BWTE.
2. Pass, but sure doesn't look like an Mottled or Mallard to me. Might be nuts, though.
3. I agree with Mottled, I think.
4. Agree with BWTE. Wrong shape for Ruddy.
5. - 8. All look like BWTE to me, as well.

[TheBillyPilgrim]

I'm starting to second guess the Mottled's for 2 and 3. Is 3 maybe a female Mallard with a rather bright bill? The crown and face look a bit dark for a mottled. Maybe the same for 2?

[Shoveler26]

I think 2. is Ether a Female Gadwall or a Female Mallard or a female Pintail. Most of the pics are Blue Winged Teal and I think 3. is a Mottled Duck.

[mtdavid]

Wow opinions all over the place! I see Gadwall for #2, Mottled Duck for #3, and Blue-winged Teal for the rest. Maybe Liam can weigh in and second those.

[Liam]

Since you asked Michael (and Kim). Not looking at the other posts (minus Michael's), here are my guesses:

1) Blue-winged Teals, hen and drake
2) Gadwall hen
3) Mottled Duck x Mallard hybrid
4) EDIT: Blue-winged Teal hen
5) Blue-winged Teals, probably two hens and a drake
6) Blue-winged Teal hen
7) Bunch o' Blue-winged Teals
8) Blue-winged Teal drake

[Sparky the Cuttlefish]

Since you asked Michael (and Kim). Not looking at the other posts (minus Michael's), here are my guesses:
3) Mottled Duck x Mallard hybrid
4) ^

I'm curious - do you often see the black bill like the bill on bird 4 in Mottled x Mallards?

[TheBillyPilgrim]

Second on Limpkin's question. I'm not good with hybrids, what field marks are pointing to Mottled x Mallard for 3 and 4? They didn't even cross my mind!

[Joejr14]

#3 is definitely a Mottled duck. The black mark on the gape of the bill is diagnostic.

[Liam]

#3 is definitely a Mottled duck. The black mark on the gape of the bill is diagnostic.

Okay, yeah, the shadows caused by the fluffed out neck feathers were throwing me off, making that area look darker than I would expect on a Mottled Duck.

[MarkBird]

I agree that #3 appears Mottled. All of the other ones that aren't Blue Wing Teals are mutts.

Here's a little blurb from the FWC about hybrids. http://myfwc.com/med...ODU_MALL_ID.pdf There's no one trait that stands out, but I usually glance at the bill, rump, wing bars, or behavior. If you see feral mallards around, you should try hard to make sure the bird as least looks as Mottled as possible before checking it off.

[TheBillyPilgrim]

I still don't think the others are hybrids. I've never seen a feral mallard at Viera (not that they couldn't be there). 4 just looks like a female BWT.

[Liam]

I still don't think the others are hybrids. I've never seen a feral mallard at Viera (not that they couldn't be there). 4 just looks like a female BWT.

Yeah, I dunno what I was thinking. 4 is definitely a BWTE hen. Mottled x Mallard hybrids are fairly common in the wild, I think.

[MarkBird]

I still don't think the others are hybrids. I've never seen a feral mallard at Viera (not that they couldn't be there). 4 just looks like a female BWT.

I can't directly address Vierra, but eBird does have plenty of ferals and hybrids noted. They're thick in Pinellas and Tampa Bay, and it's a straight shot across. I've noticed that the ones in the wild start acting like Mottleds pretty quickly, too.

I apologize that I just glanced quickly at #5, saw the dark rump with what looked like white coverts (?), and leaped to that one being a hybrid too...

[Joejr14]

I can't directly address Vierra, but eBird does have plenty of ferals and hybrids noted. They're thick in Pinellas and Tampa Bay, and it's a straight shot across. I've noticed that the ones in the wild start acting like Mottleds pretty quickly, too.

I apologize that I just glanced quickly at #5, saw the dark rump with what looked like white coverts (?), and leaped to that one being a hybrid too...

I'm not sure if there's still a debate over the mottled duck or not, but I just wanted to address a couple of things. Firstly, the black spot on the gape is diagnostic. The bird has a pale crown and unmarked buffy throat. Those are all field marks of a Mottled duck. I don't really see anything here that would make me think this is a hybrid.

[Cavan Wood]

Wow opinions all over the place! I see Gadwall for #2, Mottled Duck for #3, and Blue-winged Teal for the rest.

That's how I see it.

[MarkBird]

I'm not sure if there's still a debate over the mottled duck or not, but I just wanted to address a couple of things. Firstly, the black spot on the gape is diagnostic. The bird has a pale crown and unmarked buffy throat. Those are all field marks of a Mottled duck. I don't really see anything here that would make me think this is a hybrid.

I think there's agreement with #3 as Mottled given this one picture.

The "black spot on the gape" by itself is not diagnostic. Once you introduce hybridization, which traits are reflected? The FWC link from above even shows a black gape on a bird with white wing bars.

But to really muddy the discussion, what is on #3's rump? Is that just a stick, or is he showing a curly Q feather...