Mallard and Their Hybrids

The family connections of Mallards are pretty complicated.

This article mentions 2 aspects:

  1. Mallards may interbreed with other ducks like the American Black Duck, but the hybrids but they look more like Mallards, and these hybrids usually end up breeding with Mallards rather than American Black Ducks. (This might imply a breeding preference or just reflect that there are more Mallards out there for the hybrids to breed with.)
  2. The Mallards we have around here are mostly "hybrids" themselves between North American Mallards and Eurasian Mallards. (I used quotes because both North American and Eurasian Mallards are considered to be the same species.)
And this article seems to suggest that true North American Mallards (generally found in the western US) are genetically closer to some North American ducks like the American Black Duck, the Mexican Duck, and the Mottled Duck than they are to Eurasian Mallards. (To me this makes it sound like either North American and Eurasian Mallards should be considered separate species, or the other mallard-esque ducks should be considered subspecies of the Mallard.)

Mallards
November 8, 2021 at Duke Island Park
Photo 169043701, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

American Black Ducks
November 8, 2021 at Duke Island Park
Photo 169043713, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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