When was the last time you spotted Anas peking amongst Anas platyrhynchos in the park? That is to say, when was the last time you saw a Long Island duck with our friends the mallards? Also known as Pekin ducks, all white ducks in the United States descended from a group of nine hatchlings imported from China to Long Island in 1873, according to Wikipedia. Not that this gal seems to care.
There was a Pekin duck in the park several years ago, but I’m not sure this individual is one. It might be just another of the many strange looking mallard/domestic duck hybrids. It actually LOOKS like a mallard/Pekin duck hybrid, but I don’t think that’s a biological possibility ["Ordinary" white domestic ducks were bred from mallards and can breed with them; I think Pekin ducks are another species].
Thanks, Bob.
I also wonder if it might be an albino mallard. Its coloration and markings are a bit odd.
There are lots of mallard-like hybrids in the park. Some are strangely colored; others look just like mallards, but are much larger. THIS guy is extra strange looking though. His (her) bill is shaped like a mallard’s, but much smaller, although larger than a Pekin duck’s. I’ve wondered about this particular duck for quite a while.
Very interesting!
I can definitely say it is a female. If it was a male she would have a curved feather on her tail.
[...] odd duck indeed is spotted at the lake in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. [...]
She looks more like a cross between a Pekin duck and a Muscovy, especially with the red around the eyes and at the base of the bill.