Most Beautiful Duck

[golforchid]

Usually very shy and elusive, the Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) has to be one of the most beautiful ducks. These photos were taken of Wood Ducks in a small brook. Because so many people stop by to feed the Mallards, one male Wood Duck, in particular, approaches closely enough for lots of pictures. Since there are both males and females, I'm hoping for ducklings a bit later in the season. Here's a link to the photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfor...7642933088874/

[NYCorchidman]

Great that you have them near where you live!

The most beautiful duck to me is the Mandarin Duck.
Here is a nice wallpaper photo of the male.

Mandarin duck wallpaper - Animal wallpapers - #19848

It is basically Chinese Wood Duck.

[Paul]

Both are gorgeous birds. Be difficult to chose one as the most beautiful for me.

[nikkik]

I think they are gorgeous too! There's a pair at our local zoo and they always have ducklings, which are ridiculously adorable. Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures.

[Leafmite]

Both are very beautiful. I've always been rather fond of duckies as I had Peking ducks as pets as a child.

[NYCorchidman]

I think pecking duck is a term for duck dish. Is there a duck named pecking duck as well???

[Leafmite]

They are the ducks used in that dish. They are white and flightless and made very loyal, sweet pets. I never eat duck for that reason. :0

[golforchid]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Great that you have them near where you live!

The most beautiful duck to me is the Mandarin Duck.
Here is a nice wallpaper photo of the male.

Mandarin duck wallpaper - Animal wallpapers - #19848

It is basically Chinese Wood Duck.

I've seen photos of the Mandarin - it is indeed beautiful as well. Last autumn a lone male Mandarin was seen consorting with the Wood Ducks at Leverett Pond in Brookline/Boston, MA. Since these are not native, it's unclear how he came to appear in the wild -was he an escapee?

[PaphMadMan]

The Wood Duck and the Mandarin are closely related, the only 2 species in genus Aix. A Mandarin in Boston could have been an escapee, or it might have crossed the Atlantic from the feral population in the UK. Since ducks tend to hybridize easily, I'd watch that local population for some interesting variations in the future.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

They are the ducks used in that dish. They are white and flightless and made very loyal, sweet pets. I never eat duck for that reason. :0

I see. now I know!
So the domesticated white ducks are called pecking duck. I just call them house duck. lol

My granda had a few of them and I had a lot of fun chasing them. Their yellow ducklings are so cute!!!

I do not eat duck often just because chickens and red meat seem to be a lot more common.

They are so good when cooked right. I did duck dish for Thanksgiving two years ago and it took a lot work to get the fat out of the skin throughout the cooking, it was so worth it at the end.

---------- Post added at 02:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:46 PM ----------

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

The Wood Duck and the Mandarin are closely related, the only 2 species in genus Aix. A Mandarin in Boston could have been an escapee, or it might have crossed the Atlantic from the feral population in the UK. Since ducks tend to hybridize easily, I'd watch that local population for some interesting variations in the future.

Or could it be an escape from a zoo?