Posted by GORDY OVERTURF on February 18, 2006

Q: How do you tell the diffrence between a drake and hen Black Duck?

A: Now there's a difficult one! I've done some research with Black Ducks so am quite familiar with this species up close. There are some feather pattern differences between the male and female but these are so subtle that they really don't help unless you have the bird in hand. However, I've found that there are some other differences that are a bit less reliable but work for me. The drakes tend to have lighter cheeks (almost creamy in color) and their bills are rather evenly yellow-orange. Their legs/feet also tend to be a brighter reddish orange. The females have muddier colored cheeks, a bill that is more on the yellowish-olive often with lots of brownish splotches. The legs of the females tend to be less reddish-orange and are often a dull orangish-brown.

These are my own observations and they have worked for me. To really see the differences best, you need to see both male and female together and I think my identification points will make sense. If you see a single bird, these differences may not help much. Do keep in mind that Black Ducks hybridize readily with Mallards so there can be some variations there too. I hope I haven't confused the issue for you. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( February 19, 2006)