# Mallard



## J_marx22 (Sep 14, 2015)

Shot a really cool mallard today and thought I'd share


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I suspect he has some domestic duck DNA somewhere in his family tree. Cool bird nonetheless. If one like that showed up with a flock of regular mallards, I'd probably go for that one.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

holy snot! that is the exact same duck that I passed up yesterday. had him in the decoys at 15 yards but, I didn't pull the trigger because he wasn't a pure bread. I ended up regretting not shooting him. I swear its the same one or at least looks like it.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

"Bibbed Domestic Duck"
I've always wanted one on the wall flying with some mallards. Way cool! What are your plans for it?


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

It is possible that your mallard is showing a touch of leucism and by definition would be a piebald bird. See definition below:

*



What is Leucism? Leucism, or leukism, is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird's feathers. As a result, the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colors listed in field guides, and instead the plumage have several color changes, including:
· White patches where the bird should not have any
· Paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached 
· Overall white plumage with little or no color discernable
The degree of leucism, including the brightness of the white and the extent of pigment loss, will vary depending on the bird's genetic makeup. Birds that show only white patches or sections of leucistic feathers - often in symmetrical patterns - are often called pied or piebald birds, while birds with fully white plumage are referred to as leucistic birds.

Click to expand...

**Nice trophy regardless. *


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

East entrance of Farmington Bay, I'm going with a Bountiful pond bread fed park duck.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Fowlmouth said:


> East entrance of Farmington Bay, I'm going with a Bountiful pond bread fed park duck.


Yep see those all the time at parks and urban ponds.


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## J_marx22 (Sep 14, 2015)

I was thinking about mounting it but it doesn't seem as cool as I thought it was at first haha


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Boy, my Norton antivirus program doesn't like that picture.

??

.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

J_marx22 said:


> I was thinking about mounting it but it doesn't seem as cool as I thought it was at first haha


Did you shoot it while it was flying or was it swimming around? Be honest.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

wyogoob said:


> Boy, my Norton antivirus program doesn't like that picture.
> 
> ??
> 
> .


It's a picture of a weird mallard with a golden leg band and a neck collar made of titanium with diamond studs. Nothing really new.


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## J_marx22 (Sep 14, 2015)

I actually called him in and he circled the decoys a few times before I even shot him. I didn't know a domestic duck would act like that. But 100 percent honest he decoyed into the spread like any other duck


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

J_marx22 said:


> I didn't know a domestic duck would act like that.


Domestic ducks DON'T act like that. The duck in your picture is NOT a domestic duck. From the other body characteristics, I'm also sure your duck is not a cross with a domestic duck. And at the risk of repeating myself (actually, I AM repeating myself :grin, I'll say it again; I'm about 99.9% sure you shot a leucistic duck. You should see the beautiful leucistic green wing teal I shot and had mounted. Here's a picture of it.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

It doesn't have to be a "domestic duck". There are many ducks just like this at city ponds all over the place. They hang out with regular mallards and do mallard stuff. A domestic duck is one that has been raised by someone. Probably the only way to tell is a dna test but who wants to fork out that kind of $$$ for an analysis on a park duck.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

One way to know for sure if it's a park duck or not is to gut it and look for chunks of bread.8)


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

J_marx22 said:


> I actually called him in and he circled the decoys a few times before I even shot him. I didn't know a domestic duck would act like that. But 100 percent honest he decoyed into the spread like any other duck


It's got domestic duck in him. That's it! There aren't a ton of those that can fly around like that. Most of them look like they are trying to poop out a basketball and cannot fly. You killed a wild duck! He may have migrated all over the flyway, he may have been shot at before, who knows? If this thing circled my decoys and I killed it, I'd mount him. Probably with another mallard drake if I had the money. It's a trophy regardless of what anyone else says.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

Also, here's a link to kind of talk about what your duck is. There's a matching picture of yours. Read the little bit about the Bibbed Domestic Duck. That's what yours is. Domestic doesn't necessarily mean it's tame or a pet. I'm pretty jealous of your kill. Someone shot one and posted it maybe 5 years ago. They're neat! So congratulations!
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/domducks.htm


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