I would have 100% confidence that this was a drake. A drake mallard in eclipse, a drake mallard/mottled cross, mallard/Mexican mallard cross, etc...

There is one thing that is for sure, that bird is a drake.

Mexican mallard. Starting to shoot quite a few more in tx.

Here's a bunch for comparison.
I was part of a study collecting 75 for genetic Sampling to list it as its own genetic species.

From mx city




Obregon mx.




Big difference with mottled and Mexican mallards is that the Mexican mallards have the white wing stripe, and the he has a mallard hen colored bill.

Study birds being processed. Lotta variation.


These birds are basically non migratory and mallards are rare in central mx. It appears to be very common to see mallard traits pop out-curls, chestnut chest, green in heads.

Right now they are listed as "dusky" ducks for limits. Usfw really doesn't want then tibe their own species cause it could be a problem with limits. As few as their are they would likely be a no shoot/off limits species. Which could shut down mottled shooting.

I'm leaning to Mexican by mottled or mallard hybrid. . I have seen Mexican mallards with 1/2-3/4 curls and the were qualified as mm's by genetic testing. The guy I helped with the study sent me all the data.

It Was cool to watch his study. He took a set of standards from every bird-wing length, tail photos, wing photos, and DNA samples from every bird. Was his phd in wildlife science/ biochem.

His grant sent him to mx to hunt with us. He also went with Gaudi and collected birds there.

I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I'm going to extensively research this more this yr jan in mx city and feb in obregon......

Its a heshe mallard.

I sent the photo to a biologist. I am just not convinced it is a mallard drake.

"How do you know"? "Well the Internet told me"! Going straight to the knowledge and see what not it might be is.

The green blotch is just standing out from any mottle or Mexican duck im looking at... im no expert though I just shoot them

Hey brazos whats the zip ties for? marking one you want to keep or watching limits?

I was thinking eclipse drake, do any other species have 2 white bands? I thought black ducks didnt.

Brazos has me convinced that its a mexi

Yes brazos has me convinced he is metro

That would be a black mallard.

I'll play...

I'm going with mallard drake. A few reasons why I think that it isn't a Mexican.

It came in with other mallards, Texoma would be very rare for one, Mexican mallards are more uniform in color (even the wings are dark & the entire body would appear more uniform in color), it has mallard characteristics (green in the head, curls, darker brown breast feathers compared to the rest of the body, grayish wing, and it is still early in the year)

I could possibly see it being a hybrid, due to the tail feathers not appearing to be very white, and overall "dusky" color, but that would be a tough sell though.

The white bars on the wing make it easy to tell it is not a black or mottled.

Thanks for sharing.

I am with Brazos. I am going with Mezkin mallard drake as a final answer. When I hear back from my niece we should know for sure. She gets angry at me because her specialty is mammals. She will send the picks to a biologist who specializes in ducks.

Now here is the kewl thing about having a biology geek for a niece. She contracts with the state of Texas. She knows and is friends with all the WMA biologists, you know the guys that take days to call you back to answer a question. She has their cell numbers.

There is a lake on WMA X. If it has water it will have a lot of ducks. Getting that biologist on the phone Is impossible. I had to call the sheriffs department, call in a favor from a deputy and he went and checked it one time. So I was talking to my niece and asked if she had been to this place. She said she and that biologist did a study together. I asked if she knew about the water situation. She called and 3 minutes later I had a full report on that and several others.

It is good to have an edge!