Under appreciated birds- Mallard!
As someone who frequently leads birding field trips, I have found that some species are always going to be crowd pleasers. Singing Blackburnian Warblers, for example, typically evoke exuberant displays of glee during birding outings. Other birds just don't hold the attention of a crowd quite as well. Try explaining the charm of a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet to someone who has just seen their first Altimira Oriole and Great Kiskadee. ( 'Well, it's the smallest North American flycatcher, it has a tremendous name, it makes a great sound, and it has some color. Look right at the base of the beak. See that tiny bit of pink! Yes, Kiskadees are great aren't they?') There are, however, some spectacular species that fail to get the recognition they deserve. Typically because they are common and widespread people take them for granted. Often, though, it is these birds that create the spark that converts someone to birding. This is the first blog post on birds I consider undervalued by most birders. Feel free to suggest others.
Lets be honest, how many birders really notice the Mallards they encounter? I mean who really LOOKS at Mallards? Talk about an impressive species; Mallards unfortunate suffer from the curse of being common. I'll confess that I, like most birders, take them for granted most of the time. Occasionally though, I take a close look and when I do I'm always rewarded.
It is easy to think that once you have seen a few hundred Mallards that you know what they look like. I certainly thought that for years until I started noticing things about Mallards that I had seen many times before but never processed.
I'd been birding for years when I finally noted that the gray color on the flanks and backs of male Mallards is not formed by solidly gray feather but by ultra fine vermiculations (narrow dark barring running across a pale feather creating a gray appearance). I had long since noted the coarser vermiculations on the back and flanks of scaup but never noticed the similar pattern on the omnipresent Mallard. After this realization I started looking at Mallards with new eyes and was soon rewarded with more Mallard knowledge.
I next discovered that the dark rump on male Mallards isn't really black as it usually appears, but iridescent green like their heads, just much darker. In order to see this the sun has to be just right so I can almost forgive myself for not seeing this sooner. I also noticed what uniquely shaped tertials Mallards and closely related species like American Black Duck have. In these species the tertials are oversized and, to me, look like the main sail on a sailboat.
Just a truly beautiful bird. A hint of the green iridescents on the rump and lower back is visible in this photo. Also note that those curled "tail feathers" are not really tail feathers at all, but decorative uppertail coverts, despite what most field guides call them. The same is true for the long "tails" on Long-tailed Duck and Northern Pintail. The elongated sprigs protruding behind the males of both these showy species are really long uppertail coverts.
A comely couple! Notice the shape of the tertials on the female, the males are similar but more pointed. The head shape differs a bit between the sexes. This is true for most waterfowl.
Even the females are attractive in a more subtle way. Females show tremendous variation in just about every plumage charateristic. How much of this variation is governed by age and how much is individual variation is something I have not worked out yet. There is always more to learned!
Another female Mallard? Nope, the bright yellow bill tells us that this is a male. This a American Black Duck X Mallard hybrid. These hybrids are quite common along the Atlantic coast. Notice the slightly curled uppertail coverts and white tail. such hybrids can show any mix of Mallard or Black Duck charateristics. This one leans more toward a Black Duck, but many show patches of green on the head and paler bodies.
In all there are many reasons to look at and enjoy Mallards!
All photos where taken by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and a 300mm Nikkor lens.
Lets be honest, how many birders really notice the Mallards they encounter? I mean who really LOOKS at Mallards? Talk about an impressive species; Mallards unfortunate suffer from the curse of being common. I'll confess that I, like most birders, take them for granted most of the time. Occasionally though, I take a close look and when I do I'm always rewarded.
It is easy to think that once you have seen a few hundred Mallards that you know what they look like. I certainly thought that for years until I started noticing things about Mallards that I had seen many times before but never processed.
I'd been birding for years when I finally noted that the gray color on the flanks and backs of male Mallards is not formed by solidly gray feather but by ultra fine vermiculations (narrow dark barring running across a pale feather creating a gray appearance). I had long since noted the coarser vermiculations on the back and flanks of scaup but never noticed the similar pattern on the omnipresent Mallard. After this realization I started looking at Mallards with new eyes and was soon rewarded with more Mallard knowledge.
I next discovered that the dark rump on male Mallards isn't really black as it usually appears, but iridescent green like their heads, just much darker. In order to see this the sun has to be just right so I can almost forgive myself for not seeing this sooner. I also noticed what uniquely shaped tertials Mallards and closely related species like American Black Duck have. In these species the tertials are oversized and, to me, look like the main sail on a sailboat.
Just a truly beautiful bird. A hint of the green iridescents on the rump and lower back is visible in this photo. Also note that those curled "tail feathers" are not really tail feathers at all, but decorative uppertail coverts, despite what most field guides call them. The same is true for the long "tails" on Long-tailed Duck and Northern Pintail. The elongated sprigs protruding behind the males of both these showy species are really long uppertail coverts.
A comely couple! Notice the shape of the tertials on the female, the males are similar but more pointed. The head shape differs a bit between the sexes. This is true for most waterfowl.
Even the females are attractive in a more subtle way. Females show tremendous variation in just about every plumage charateristic. How much of this variation is governed by age and how much is individual variation is something I have not worked out yet. There is always more to learned!
Another female Mallard? Nope, the bright yellow bill tells us that this is a male. This a American Black Duck X Mallard hybrid. These hybrids are quite common along the Atlantic coast. Notice the slightly curled uppertail coverts and white tail. such hybrids can show any mix of Mallard or Black Duck charateristics. This one leans more toward a Black Duck, but many show patches of green on the head and paler bodies.In all there are many reasons to look at and enjoy Mallards!
All photos where taken by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and a 300mm Nikkor lens.
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