Common Nature

I saw this pair of American Black Ducks recently.



Widespread in the eastern US and Canada, they're often mistaken for female or nonbreeding male Mallards, since they're the same size and shape and have similar markings. It was nice to get a good clear look at some of the differences. Their bodies are darker than the typical Mallard (though not actually black) with contrastingly pale heads. The male (with the yellow bill) has no white or curly tailfeathers and not even a smudge of green on his head. The female's bill is olive-gray with no orange on it.

The female also helpfully displayed her wing patch when she was preening:



Both species have violet-blue wing patches which are most visible in flight, but Mallards have distinct white borders at the top and bottom of the patch. American Black Ducks have black borders.

The lake was actually still mostly frozen, and they were swimming in a relatively small melted area. I'm sure it was cold out there!