Expert: Julia Booth - 3/23/2009

Question
 I live in southern Herkimer County near the headwaters of Ocquionis Creek between Richfield Springs and Jordanville.  This creek floods near my house in the Spring and migrating ducks will pass through this time of the year.  This morning at about 11:15 I saw a duck sitting on the shore and it had a brightly colored bill which was yellow with maybe a greenish tint.  Shortly after spotting it I was watching with a good pair of binoculars when it went into the water and swam downstream.  It looked like a large female mallard except for the brightly colored bill.  It then turned and swam upstream and went out of sight behind the trees.  I'm keeping a lookout but haven't seen it again.  My bird book leads me to believe this is a Mexican mallard.  Is that a possibility?  Ken   
P.S.  There are usually a pair of mallards that nest in the area where I saw this bird and there were 2 male wood ducks in the area at the same time.

Answer
I'm thinking you mean "Mexican Duck" as oppose to Mexican Mallard. There are two different species, but in the same genus. They are similar in appearance.

It's unlikely that you would find a Mexican Duck in New York, given that they live mostly in the southern US. Florida, would be the closest place you would find one, although they are versatile. Anything is possible.

What you probably have is a hybrid species of Mallard that has inbred with domestics and come out with some peculiar markings. All domestic ducks are descended from either the Mallard or the Muscovy. This means they can breed with them as well. This is much more likely, since Mallards are abundant, breeding residents in New York (as well as every other state).

Try getting a picture of the fella, even if it's not a good one, and I can give you a more definite answer.

Mallards and Wood Ducks hang out together. Domestic ducks that escape and end up in the wild, usually allign themselves with Mallards. Safety in numbers. Sometimes you will see a Mandarin Duck hanging out with the Wood Ducks as well, or a variety of geese hanging out with the Mallards. The geese are usually rather vocal and dominant though. So this doesn't always last.

Hope this helps,

Julia