Look what tried to land in the decoys today

The male black duck's bill is yellow like a drake Mallard and the hen is Dull Green.

This is a HEN.

It's a true Black by definition as well and not a hybrid.
 
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American Black Duck From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search


American Black ducks are similar to mallards in size, and resemble the female mallard in coloration, although the black duck's plumage is darker. The male and female black duck are generally similar in appearance, but the male's bill is yellow while the females is a dull green. The head is slightly lighter brown than the dark brown body, and the speculum are iridescent violet-blue with predominantly black margins. The black duck has orange legs and dark eyes. In flight, the white underwings can be seen in contrast to the dark brown body. The behaviour and voice are the same as for Mallard






 
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Sorry, I ment the green in the eye channel and on top of the head. If you look close you can see the green.

the picture isn't much better than the first, tried to blow it up.
 
I've shot plenty of blacks.... drakes always have had yellow bills and hens have had olive green with a black spot like a hen mallard on it...if you tilt the blacks heads into the sun you will always see a green irradescence in the tips of the feathers along the eye channel and along the dark brown crown on top of the heads....CO's in Jersey would count it as a black from prior experiences....Dave
 
I've shot plenty of blacks.... drakes always have had yellow bills and hens have had olive green with a black spot like a hen mallard on it...if you tilt the blacks heads into the sun you will always see a green irradescence in the tips of the feathers along the eye channel and along the dark brown crown on top of the heads....CO's in Jersey would count it as a black from prior experiences....Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave,

So I have a Drake, possibly a cross but maybe distant at that.
Craig
 
Graig there is always a lot of talk around here (Eastern Shore MD) about the dwindling " Pure" Black Duck.
White on the speculum is usually source of contention.
If you check scientific guidelines Tod is correct that there can be white in the posterior speculum.

I think part of the promlem down here stems from the amount of blacks we have in our salt marshes.
If you kill one at 1st light you can easily go all day and see nothing but black ducks.
Some count them as hybreds and keep shooting.
I'm sure the ones that do that have not been checked by the NRP.

I'm the guy who gets a speeding ticket doing 32 in a 30 zone so I count them as blacks regaurdless of the amount of white anterior or posterior!
 
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