Duck ID help, Crownsville, next to Severn River

[Ted on Little Round Bay]

Can I get some expert advice on this duck family in our yard? I'd like to think they're mallard x black duck hybrids.  There are 6 just hatched ducklings in the mix, and these 2 adults.  What I assume is the male has a white breast patch, and on what I assume is the female, the speculum color is not blue, though it seems to be bounded by black and not white.  This is at the Severn River.  This time of year, I have only seen mallards.  Chicks this late in the season and the lack of clear mallard markings have me confused.  See attached photos.. Thanks for any thoughts.  

[Steve Long]

Mallards will cross-breed with both Black Ducks and Peking Ducks (white domestic), and cross-breeds can further cross-breed, generation after generation.  

So, it would probably take a DNA sample and a costly analysis to figure out exactly what ancestral combination resulted in these 2 ducks.

Steve Long

 

On 8/9/2026 6:08 PM, 'Ted on Little Round Bay' via Maryland & DC Birding wrote:

Can I get some expert advice on this duck family in our yard? I'd like to think they're mallard x black duck hybrids.  There are 6 just hatched ducklings in the mix, and these 2 adults.  What I assume is the male has a white breast patch, and on what I assume is the female, the speculum color is not blue, though it seems to be bounded by black and not white.  This is at the Severn River.  This time of year, I have only seen mallards.  Chicks this late in the season and the lack of clear mallard markings have me confused.  See attached photos.. Thanks for any thoughts.   --
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[Ted on Little Round Bay]

Thanks Steve.  That makes sense.  Is there an appropriate ebird thing to register this under?  I just have them down as mallards, which is as wrong as black ducks I suppose.

[Steve Long]

I can't answer about ebird.

In some places, Mallard hybrids are quite common, with all sorts of strange markings.  If the operators of ebird have any interest in all about them, I SUPPOSE they would have some category for hybrid Mallards.  But sorting out what ancestry is probably not even possible.

Interestingly, in the autumn here near Oxford, I am recently seeing large migrating flocks of Mallards that appear to be mostly if not all pure-bred.  And the large flotilla of strange looking hybrids that used to live in our cove is now long-gone.

Steve Long, Oxford

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[Jim Nelson]

eBird offers "Mallard (Domestic type)" as a reporting option.  Here is what they have to say about "Domestic type" taxa:

"eBird has separate ‘domestic type' taxa for 15 species. When you see these in eBird they will always have an Exotic Code, which can range from Escapee (most often) to Naturalized (for some species) depending on their level of establishment.

 Importantly, domestic type taxa should be thought of as taxonomic entities—sort of like subspecies. They are a sub-population of the parent species with a unique and specific evolutionary history and appearance. Many domestic types are larger and have more variable plumage (often white, black, or mottled) compared to their parent species. In most cases the domestic types don't form self-sustaining populations and don't occur near the native range of the parent species, but there are notable exceptions (Graylag Goose, Mallard, Muscovy Duck, and Feral Pigeon have the most overlap in the range of native and domestic type forms).

 When reporting to eBird, please report wild-type birds as the parent species and use "domestic type" for individuals that show clear signs of domestication. These two types are generally identifiable in the field, so identify them as you would any other species, but also take note of their behavior and habitat."

Given how little white is on the chest of the male and at the base of the bill of the female Mallard in your photos, and the lack of a curly tail on either, I would lean toward reporting these as "Mallard" unless you otherwise think there are clear signs of domestication.  Could be some domestic type genes in there, or it may just be some leucism (expressed as white areas where other colors would be expected.

Jim Nelson

Bethesda, MD

kingfi...@verizon.net

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[Ted on Little Round Bay]

Thanks for chiming in.  I appreciate it.  I'll just keep them as mallards.