Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Malmutts

Whilst out birding today, the pictured duck caught my eye among the other 'normal' ones, due to the very pale colouring of its face, which the photo doesn't show very well.

I have heard other people call unusual mallards that are either partly or entirely derived from domestic stock 'manky mallards' or 'motley mallards'. A name that I think should be used for the kind of duck pictured is 'malmutt'.

The 'malmutt' is New Zealand's mallard; having a wide range of appearances due to interbreeding between wild mallards, grey ducks, and in many cases, domestic mallards.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the bird pictured got its dark bill from the grey duck, its partially pale face from the domestic mallard, and the rest of its appearance from the wild mallard. As for what the truth is, why care?

In regard to the grey duck population now being entirely genetically 'polluted' by mallards, I don't think this matters much. Sure, it's sad to lose a duck that was clearly different from the mallard in several ways, but the fact that it interbred so extensively with the mallard, with no sign of a loss of fertility as each generation passed, to me means that the grey duck's position as a distinct species from the mallard should be reconsidered.

Whether the mallard's arrival in New Zealand was unnatural or not, the fact that the extensive hybridisation between the two ducks was possible in the first place means that some new decisions regarding the taxonomy of the mallard and its lookalikes (grey duck, American black duck, Hawaiian duck, etc.) should be made, without the sentimentalist mentality of them all being different species getting in the way.

No, I am not entirely against the 'pure-breeding' of different animals, and there are some birds that I don't want to see have their specific identity 'removed' via interbreeding, but this case is an exception.

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