Spoonbill numbers down next year
 

Shot 7 spoonies and a black mallard/mottled?? Birds didnt wanna decoy at all. Had 2 of us huntin.

Did ya save me the spoons, they great training birds.

I have carcasses minus breasts but dey been in the trash can for some hours now, which will make them real easy for the pups to trail

That appears to be a black duck you have there. Black ducks dont have any white in the speculum as a mottle duck and mallard will. Mallards have a white band above and below the speculum and a mottle only has one white band in the speculum. There actually isnt a black mallard ,that I have found I think that is just another name for a mottle also know as a summer mallard.

Thanks Trey, that is what me and Shawn thought also. Looking for someone that knows more than us to confirm......

Mottled Duck

I suspeculum you are correct. lol whatever a speculum is.

The speculum is the colored patch on the wing . Such as the violet or biue color on the duck pictured.

Thanks for the id, wanted to make sure, thought the back would have been darker so it was throwin me off but knew about the no white on the speculum

Generally a true American Black Duck is very dark in color and larger in size than a Mottled Duck . There are cases of cross breading which can lead to variances in the typical coloration of the bird as well as age, time of year and sometimes location.
Im always glad to help out when I can.

Heres the back

The expert has spoken.

:grinpimp:;)

I would go with a Black Duck ,but like I said there are some hybrids that are hard to really make a decision on . I think the Black has a Yellowish Green bill also ,if I remember correctly.

I dont know that I would say expert ...lol
It is a very common debate and I had to do a lot of homework on it because the two are so similar in appearance . Trust me there has been some lenghty debates on this topic over the years.

I remembered one having the greenish bill but couldnt remember which. Ive read where florida requires you to have a permit to have pet ducks due to "pet" mallards breeding with mottleds and basiclly breeding out the true mottled population. Dont know how much truth there is to that though.

I was hoping that this wasnt gonna end as one of those debates

It is quite possible Shawn that, that has happened. Some ducks will breed anything . Also some will take over anothers nest and raise the young of a completely different species. I have seen white peking ducks cross breed with mallards .

My boys at our walkin claimed 3 mallards sat but one looked like a mottle. Green bill and beginning of the brown bottom of a drake mallard. Duck was a drake without his full suit of clothes. Anyone ever seen a drake this far south without a greenhead??

Yep I got one runnin round my yard rite now . It depends on when it was hatched and its age IMO

Odd