Need help from any duck experts

[Ar-Pharazon]

I've lived in the same basic area all my life (42 years), and I have only ever seen one type of duck, Mallards (M & F).

In a grassy area near my apartment complex, I saw something completely different today. there is a small farm of some kind in the midst of the industrial park I am near, so possibly a hybrid?

I've tried searching for images based on all the types I know the names of, and even generic searches. No luck so far.

I think the male is the one with the white bib, since that one was keeping it's eye on me while the other one ate.

http://imagefra.me/view.php?img=/7/9/21/arpharazon/f_2vmri8pbm_feb5df0.jpg&srv=img40

 

[Moosalon]

My guess would be a type of young Muscovy, based on the reddish bill and small caruncles on the male. There is a picture of a Chocolate Muscovy about halfway down this page that seems quite similar: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/BRKScobies.html

 

[scotpens]

There is a picture of a Chocolate Muscovy about halfway down this page that seems quite similar: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/BRKScobies.html

Chocolate? Yuck. They're much tastier with orange sauce.

 

[RJDiogenes]

If they sell bacon with chocolate, I wouldn't be surprised to seem them sell duck with chocolate.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

My guess would be a type of young Muscovy, based on the reddish bill and small caruncles on the male. There is a picture of a Chocolate Muscovy about halfway down this page that seems quite similar: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/BRKScobies.html

It certainly looks like a winner.

And, duck smothered in bacon, mmmm.

 

[Miss Chicken]

There are several species of ducks in Tasmania. My favourite is the Musk Duck.

 

[M'Sharak]

My guess would be a type of young Muscovy, based on the reddish bill and small caruncles on the male. There is a picture of a Chocolate Muscovy about halfway down this page that seems quite similar: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/BRKScobies.html

It certainly looks like a winner.

That looked closer than anything I'd been able to find until just a few minutes ago, when I ran with your earlier supposition of a hybrid and stumbled on another possibility: a Muscovy-Mallard cross. They're bred for meat and apparently also sometimes for foie gras. See some photos for comparison here, particularly the two shots at the very bottom.

 

[Captain Ice]

If they sell bacon with chocolate, I wouldn't be surprised to seem them sell duck with chocolate.

More like duck wrapped in bacon...yum.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

My guess would be a type of young Muscovy, based on the reddish bill and small caruncles on the male. There is a picture of a Chocolate Muscovy about halfway down this page that seems quite similar: http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/BRKScobies.html

It certainly looks like a winner.

That looked closer than anything I'd been able to find until just a few minutes ago, when I ran with your earlier supposition of a hybrid and stumbled on another possibility: a Muscovy-Mallard cross. They're bred for meat and apparently also sometimes for foie gras. See some photos for comparison here, particularly the two shots at the very bottom.

Also possible. These were 2 very large birds. At least twice the size of any Mallard I've ever seen.

 

[RJDiogenes]

If they sell bacon with chocolate, I wouldn't be surprised to seem them sell duck with chocolate.

More like duck wrapped in bacon...yum.

That sounds more palatable....

 

[Holdfast]

Eh, duck is nice enough. But for a really top-notch cassoulet, you need goose.

 

[melancholymecha]

There are several species of ducks in Tasmania. My favourite is the Musk Duck.

 

[scotpens]

^^ Looks more like a Ukranian duck, several generations after Chernobyl.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Those come pre-cooked y'know.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Here is a video of a male Musk Duck displaying

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vtuDd7jRfo[/yt]

 

[M'Sharak]

It certainly looks like a winner.

That looked closer than anything I'd been able to find until just a few minutes ago, when I ran with your earlier supposition of a hybrid and stumbled on another possibility: a Muscovy-Mallard cross. They're bred for meat and apparently also sometimes for foie gras. See some photos for comparison here, particularly the two shots at the very bottom.

Also possible. These were 2 very large birds. At least twice the size of any Mallard I've ever seen.

From what I read, the males of such a hybrid quickly (within 3 months?) grow to much greater size than the females and at maturity are roughly twice the size of a wild Mallard. The same is true when Muscovy ducks are crossed with Mallard-derived domesticated breeds such as the Pekin.