Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Description and Identification of American
Black Duck, Mallard, and Hybrid Wing Plumage
By
Ronald E. Kirby1, Austin Reed2, Pierre Dupuis3,
Holliday H. Obrecht, III4, and Walter J. Quist5
Abstract: We developed a key to identify wings of hybrids between
American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes) and Mallards (A. platyrhynchos).
Material for analysis included review of historical descriptions dating from
the late 1700's, older museum collections in Europe and North America, wings
collected from hunters in North America and Great Britain, birds banded in Canada
and the United States, and a flock of propagated hybrids. All first filial generation
(F1) American Black Duck × Mallard hybrids were identified
correctly with the key. A lower proportion of other hybrid cohorts (i.e., backcrosses
of F1 to parental forms (P1), and second and third filial
generations (F2, F3, etc.) were identified. We successfully
identified a larger portion of male than female hybrids for all hybrid progeny
cohorts examined except F1. The new key identified 2.37 times more
hybrids in the 1977 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Parts Collection Survey (annual
determination of the species, age, and sex composition of the waterfowl harvest
using detached wings contributed by hunters) than were identified by standard
techniques. The proportion of American Black Duck × Mallard hybrids to
the American Black Duck parental population (the ratio: hybrids/[hybrids + American
Black Ducks]) may therefore be closer to 0.132 than 0.056, the historically
reported value. The hybrid key is suggested for use from North Carolina north
in the Atlantic Flyway and Arkansas and Tennessee north in the Mississippi Flyway
(areas where other members of the Mallard group will not confound assessment).
We provide suggestions for further research that would assist identification
of wings in parts collection surveys and permit estimation of the proportional
representation of Mallard genes in the American Black Duck gene pool.
Key Words: American Black Duck. Anas platyrhynchos,
Anas rubripes, domestic Mallard, hybridization, Mallard, museum, parts
collection surveys, plumage, waterfowl, wings.
This resource is based on the following source (Northern Prairie Publication
1094):
Kirby, Ronald E., Austin Reed, Pierre Dupuis, Holliday H. Obrecht, III, and
Walter J. Quist. 2000. Description and identification of American Black
Duck, Mallard, and hybrid wing plumage. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological
Resources Division, Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR-2000-0002.
26 pp.
This resource should be cited as:
Kirby, Ronald E., Austin Reed, Pierre Dupuis, Holliday H. Obrecht, III, and
Walter J. Quist. 2000. Description and identification of American Black
Duck, Mallard, and hybrid wing plumage. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological
Resources Division, Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR-2000-0002.
26 pp. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/diplume/index.htm
(Version 31OCT2000).
Table of Contents
- Figure 1 -- Photograph of a typical wing
from an immature male Mallard illustrating the range of dorsal and ventral
characters expected in wild forms
- Figure 2 -- Dorsal and ventral photographs
of a typical wing from an immature female Mallard illustrating the same
features as in Figure 1
- Figure 3 -- Dorsal and ventral photographs
of a typical wing from a Black Duck illustrating characters expected in
wild forms
- Figure 4 -- Dorsal and ventral photographs
of a wing from an adult male hybrid resembling for the most part a Black
Duck
- Figure 5 -- Dorsal and ventral photographs
of a wing from an immature female hybrid resembling for the most part a
Black Duck
- Figure 6 -- Dorsal and ventral photographs
of a wing from an adult female hybrid resembling for the most part a Mallard
- Figure 7 -- Dorsal and ventral photographs
of a wing from an immature female hybrid resembling for the most part a
wing intermediate between Black Duck and Mallard
- Figure 8 -- Frequency distribution of the
width of white bars bounding the speculum on the wing dorsum of Black Ducks,
Mallards, and hybrids
- Table -- A dichotomous key for identification
of wings from American Black Ducks, Mallards and hybrids between the two
1 U. S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Jamestown, North Dakota, USA 58401
2 Canadian Wildlife Service 1141 Route de l'Eglise Ste-Foy, Québec,
Canada G1V 4H5
3 Canadian Wildlife Service 1141 Route de l'Eglise Ste-Foy, Québec,
Canada G1V 4H5
4 U. S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel,
Maryland, USA 20708
Current address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Research Refuge, 12100
Beech Forest Road, Laurel, Maryland 20708-4036
5 U. S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel,
Maryland, USA 20708
Current address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Office,
300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035
Downloading Instructions
-- Instructions on downloading and extracting files from this site.
diplume.zip
(282K) -- Description and Identification of American Black Duck,
Mallard, and Hybrid Wing Plumage
Installation: Extract all files and open
index.htm in a web browser.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey