Pure White Mallard - Ireland (1 Viewer)

[John In Ireland]

I came across this pure white mallard and wondered if they were common. It's not albino. Is it some kind of domestic escape or leucistic? It's definitely mallard judging by the looped tail.

 

[Dave Appleton]

I came across this pure white mallard and wondered if they were common. It's not albino. Is it some kind of domestic escape or leucistic? It's definitely mallard judging by the looped tail.

Yes, it's one of the domestic variants. As you say, definitely Mallard. Such birds aren't uncommon.

 

[midlands birder]

As no-ones replyed
Its a Domestic Mallard
MB

 

[BirdBoyBen]

I believe you have an Aylesbury Duck-probably the most common domestic Mallard.

 

[fugl]

Could be (maybe even likely to be) a domestic Mallard rather than a leucistic wild type, but not necessarily. Here's a very similar duck I photographed in Reno a few years ago which in every respect except color was identical in appearance & behavior to the wild-type Mallards with which it consorted.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/405277939/in/set-72157602221544709

 

[fugl]

I believe you have an Aylesbury Duck-probably the most common domestic Mallard.

I don't think so. The typical Aylesbury is a big bulky bird bred for meat.

 

[Dave Appleton]

Could be (maybe even likely to be) a domestic Mallard rather than a leucistic wild type, but not necessarily. Here's an almost identical bird I photographed in Reno a few years ago which in every respect except color was identical in appearance & behavior to the wild-type Mallards with which it consorted.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/405277939/in/set-72157602221544709

I see ducks that look, to my eyes, identical to these on far too regular a basis for them to be leucistic wild Mallards. That's not to say that none of them are, of course. But I'm not sure how likely a wild leucistic Mallard would be to have such orange bills? I agree not an Aylsbury, but I wouldn't necessarily expect any domestic variant Mallard to conform to any of the domestic breeds.

 

[fugl]

I see ducks that look, to my eyes, identical to these on far too regular a basis for them to be leucistic wild Mallards. That's not to say that none of them are, of course. But I'm not sure how likely a wild leucistic Mallard would be to have such orange bills? I agree not an Aylsbury, but I wouldn't necessarily expect any domestic variant Mallard to conform to any of the domestic breeds.

Well, obviously, you've seen what you've seen, & I can only speak from my own experience which is that I've never encountered such a duck in Reno before, and I frequent the local parks on an almost daily basic & see lots & lots of domestic Mallards. The bright orange bills to my mind, aren't a problem, as they're easily accounted for by the absence of dark pigments generally in these mostly white ducks.

You refer to such ducks as "domestic variant(s)" not conforming to any particular domestic breed, but it seems to me, given their physical & behavioral characteristics (as exemplified by the Reno bird at any rate), that they can just as plausibly be regarded as aberrant wild types. Not, admittedly, an easy question to settle one way or the other since in all probability there's been gene exchange between wild Mallards & their domestic cousins on a greater or smaller scale for millennia.

 

[Dave Appleton]

Well, obviously, you've seen what you've seen, & I can only speak from my own experience which is that I've never encountered such a duck in Reno before, and I frequent the local parks on an almost daily basic & see lots & lots of domestic Mallards. The bright orange bills to my mind, aren't a problem, as they're easily accounted for by the absence of dark pigments generally in these mostly white ducks.

You refer to such ducks as "domestic variant(s)" not conforming to any particular domestic breed, but it seems to me, given their physical & behavioral characteristics (as exemplified by the Reno bird at any rate), that they can just as plausibly be regarded as aberrant wild types. Not, admittedly, an easy question to settle one way or the other since in all probability there's been gene exchange between wild Mallards & their domestic cousins on a greater or smaller scale for millennia.

I agree that natural mutation in wild Mallards could, theoretically, produce a similar effect to some domestic variants - indeed it's by careful and repeated selection of birds showing natural mutations that the domestic breeds have been developed. So I would not argue that this bird, your bird, or many other domestic-looking variants CANNOT be wild birds. However, birds that resemble domestic variants are very frequently encountered in the wild (round here at least), including odd individuals consorting with, and behaving like, wild Mallards. Among all the wild duck of other species that I see (many of which appear round here in far larger numbers than Mallard) I occasionally see leucistic birds but I have never seen an all pure-white individual. I don't know that a naturally all-white Mallard couldn't have a bright orange bill, but where leucism effects the bill colour it generally makes it pinker than normal - I can conceive that a yellow bill that's pinker than normal might look orange, but I rather doubt if it would be bright orange. But I don't know for 100% sure - you might be right

 

[fugl]

I agree that natural mutation in wild Mallards could, theoretically, produce a similar effect to some domestic variants - indeed it's by careful and repeated selection of birds showing natural mutations that the domestic breeds have been developed. So I would not argue that this bird, your bird, or many other domestic-looking variants CANNOT be wild birds. However, birds that resemble domestic variants are very frequently encountered in the wild (round here at least), including odd individuals consorting with, and behaving like, wild Mallards. Among all the wild duck of other species that I see (many of which appear round here in far larger numbers than Mallard) I occasionally see leucistic birds but I have never seen an all pure-white individual. I don't know that a naturally all-white Mallard couldn't have a bright orange bill, but where leucism effects the bill colour it generally makes it pinker than normal - I can conceive that a yellow bill that's pinker than normal might look orange, but I rather doubt if it would be bright orange. But I don't know for 100% sure - you might be right

Well, fair enough. I guess where we mainly disagree is in my suggestion that the "pure whiteness" of our 2 ducks re-entered the wild genome via cross-breeding with domestic stock at some point in the past, maybe (though not necessarily) in the far distant past. And once back in, there it quietly sat, expressing itself phenotypically only on the rare occasions when sperm & ova of exactly the right genetic composition happen to unite. All very speculative, of course, & you may well be right in suspecting a more immediate origin in one of the domestic breeds.

Anyway, interesting birds.

 

[Tideliner]

There must be dozens if not hundreds of white type mallards at large in Norfolk. A visit to many of the semi tame village flocks in Norfolk will usually show a bird or two and I have often seen a dozen or more at a single site. Its frequent to see a female mallard with a few yellow ducklings in here brood in spring , but in a wild situation predation of these bright coloured ducklings is probably very high. I suspect many have domestic Aylesbury blood way back in past generations , but white call mallards are frequently used on many shoots and go " native " and these will interbreed with wild mallards.

 

[fugl]

Very nteresting. The situation is quite different at the urban & suburban parks & duck ponds here in Reno where the Mallard population tends to neatly divide into the normal wild type on the one hand & big, hulking domestics in a variety of shapes & colors on the other. I'm sure the domestics & wild types must occasionally interbreed but I've never seen any evidence for this. I've never seen a call duck at a Reno park.