[BillGyles]

Could someone please tell me if this is a mallard/black duck hybrid. Seen at Buttertubs, Nanaimo about a week ago. Feathers are darker than other female mallards I have seen and many feather margins are white.
P1000536 by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

P1000537 by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

[BirdingBC]

Hi Bill,

Not easy to make a determination. I am leaning towards just a darker female mallard but there is some doubt. Might be a hybrid. I am unsure as I think we need more photos including when this bird is beside a regular female mallard. The field mark differences are subtle and it takes a keen eye and a lot of knowledge to pick up on them.

Hybrid females are more difficult but can be picked out by looking through female Mallards and finding a darker individual and then looking for other characteristics that don’t match either Mallards or American Black Ducks exactly, like the speculum having some white but not as much as a Mallard would.

https://www.10000birds.com/hybrid-mallards.htm

Thanks for sharing,

[BillGyles]

Thanks very much. It was on the other side of the lake from the mallards when I took the photo, but I will try and get a group shot.