Mallard x Yellow-billed Duck Anas platyrhynchos x Anas undulata
These two ducks almost certainly emanate from captivity as they shared a duckpond with a variety of escaped (or deliberately released) ducks. The first one resembles a Yellow-billed Duck but several inconsistencies including the green on the head and the curled tail feathers indicate some Mallard influence. The pale colouration of the second bird suggests that the Mallard influence was of domestic stock, which is not surprising given the number of domestic birds sharing the pond.
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domestic Mallard x Yellow-billed Duck hybrids, Porthloo Duckpond, St Mary's (Scilly, UK), 3rd October 2007 |
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A return visit to Scillies three years later found a similar, but not identical, pair elsewhere on the same island. The bill was more strongly orange, rather than yellow, and they lacked green on the head. I'm not sure I'd reach this conclusion if it wasn't for the birds seen in 2007 but the coincidence leads me to think these may be the same hybrid? The orangey bills and the straight tail feathers make me wonder if these are females whereas one of the birds above was clearly a male.
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presumed domestic Mallard x Yellow-billed Duck hybrids, Porth Hellick, St Mary's (Scilly, UK), 9th August 2010 |
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Meanwhile the original duckpond where the first pair had been observed in 2007 now contained a number of domestic ducks and this peculiar bird. Could it be a backcross between one of the original hybrids and a Mallard? Another possibility perhaps is domestic Mallard x Pintail, as on a previous visit I noted a couple of very strange and possibly hybrid Pintails on the pond. The same pond plays host to at least one domestic Mallard resembling the pink-billed "Aylesbury" breed, so if such a bird was a parent this may explain the pink colour on the bill. Any thoughts on any of these birds would be welcome.

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