ducks at Utah Lake in Provo, UT (2 Viewers)

[Elizabeth R]

I'm having trouble identifying these ducks in my guidebook. The only light-brown ducks that I found were the Canvasbacks, but these ducks have yellow beaks. You can also see in the pictures that one of the ducks has a more orange-colored beak.

Also, while I have your attention, in duck3 there are pictures of mallards, but there is another duck with a darker-colored head and more white in the back. Is that a variant of the mallards or a different species?

These pictures were taken at Utah Lake in Provo, UT on Feb. 7, 2010.

Thanks!
-Elizabeth

 

[Tideliner]

All various forms of domesticated mallard

 

[fugl]

Yes, all domesticated Mallards. Most urban ponds with tame or semi-tame waterfowl have one or more of these critters which come in all sorts of shapes & sizes.

 

[Elizabeth R]

Alas, I suspected as much. I wasn't fooled by the Greylag Goose that I also saw that day but I was hoping that the brown-headed duck was something special. Thanks!