During my most recent trip to California, I had a chance to drop in on Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles. The waterfowl there were mighty tame, with wild ducks, geese, and cormorants practically posing for portraits. But the bird that really captured my eye was not purebred but rather poultry.
This fine fellow with the feathered fro is what brainy bird watchers like to call a manky mallard. Having consulted the world’s most reputable resource to these most disreputable ducks, I’m going to technically classify this cur as a Swedish x Crested combo. Charlie, this one’s for you!
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.
You know, that’s quite a good-looking duck all things considered 🙂
Well! Manky Mallards! What a wonderful name for these very odd ducks! If you go to the above link (or here: http://thetombstonechronicler.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-do-you-get.html) you’ll see some of the Manky Mallards of Connecticut. I was led to your blog by Louise (http://pottedfrog.wordpress.com/), bless her, and am glad I was as I had no idea these ducks actually had a name! Must go explore your wonderful blog now…abb
That is correct- a Blue Swedish and Crested Pekin cross.
There are so many people who get domestic ducks as ducklings because it’s so hard to resist the little puffballs with big dark eyes, but it’s heartbreaking to see how many end up dumped at local ponds or creeks. The problem with this is, among other things, domesticated ducks can NOT fly like wild waterfowl such as mallards. This means that around winter time, they’re stranded on their own with no flock.
Please, don’t buy ducklings if you don’t intend to keep them when they grow up and aren’t fuzzy and adorable anymore.
Liz, thanks for making such an important point.