What's in the Gene Pool?

S

Steve O

Active member
Shot these birds yesterday. Understand the drake to the right is a hybrid, but wonder of what. My first, obvious conclusion is a black/mallard cross, but then why is there also green on the duck's rump?
View attachment Hybrid - Copy.jpg
 
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Plenty of subtle green iridescence on a drake mallard's upper tail coverts, Steve. There will also be some blue/green in the upper coverts of a blackduck down toward the bottom.



[size 4]This pic of mallard tail curls gives a good approximation of the green that the coverts are usually shot with.
View attachment Mallard_HAH1062-L.jpg
 
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Well, Rfberan's explanation has an appealing logic to it, but I'm guessing MLBob's post is more biologically sound.
 
Funky looking duck!

So in your state, could you have shot another "real" black duck or did the hybrid count as number 2?
 
Carl,

I don't know for sure, but i asked a friend who is very active in DU, duck hunting, and hunting regulation, and he was confident that it would not count as a black duck
 
Carl,

I would bet that it's a lot like in FL....depends on who your LEO is that is checking you. Most bios would recognize it as a hybrid and here in FL (for Mottled x Mallard hybrids) it doesn't count as a Mottled Duck so you could shoot a Mottled Duck with your hybrid. Most people I know don't though since if you get checked by a LEO who isn't as familiar with the characteristics that make a Mottled Duck or a hybrid, they could feel it within their rights to give you a ticket for going over the limit, even if you can point out the hybrid qualities.
 
Amazing how something can be right in front of your face for years without your noticing it.

In my defense, however, it is a rare season when I am able to harvest a drake mallard. There just aren't usually a lot of them in the salt marshes where I hunt

Right now, however, there are a fair number. But the challenge in these conditions is getting out there, and, if one can even get out there, doing so safely.
 
I shot a mallard/Black cross last week. The duck had all the body characteristics of a drake mallard but the head had a black top and brown cheek patch and the bottom half of the belly was a rusty color almost like a hen mallard. I am guessing that it was a hybrid that bred with a mallard. most black/mallard crosses i have seen are very similar to the one pictured here having a black duck body with mallard traces but mine was the opposite. I would concur that this is a mallard/black cross. Also where i hunt (eastern NC) the hybrid would be considered a duck and you could take 6 of them.
 
Yesterday I looked at one of my mallard drake decoys (which I've had for many years) and noticed that it has green painted on the rump, exactly where it shows on this hybrid.

This whole thing has been eye-opening.
 
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