Mexican Duck

About the Mexican Duck

The Mexican Duck looks like a Mallard that traded the green head for subtlety: both sexes wear the mottled brown of a female Mallard, with a bright yellow bill on the drake and a dark tail without the Mallard's white edges. For decades it was lumped with the Mallard; the AOS restored it to full species status in 2020.

Its heartland is the Mexican plateau, reaching the United States along the Rio Grande and in southern Arizona and New Mexico. In Central Texas it is a scarce find that requires careful separation from female Mallards and hybrids.

This drake was photographed at Windy Point on Lake Travis, dabbling where few expect a Mexican Duck.