[NatureNS] re strange bed...I mean duck-fellows

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Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 16:39:29 -0400 (ADT)
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> Obviously, this  Black/Mallard is a common mix, but the first one I
noted is very strange, as the male teal seemed to be quite interested in
the female merganser, while the male merganser just kept diving close
by, seemingly oblivious to .... I wonder if the female was bringing up
some kind of the food the teal was interested in?

Can's resist a reply to Billy's note.  No comment on the first group,
> which is indeed an example of strange bedfellows, but of course the
> second example is not strange at all, since the mallard and black
> duck quite freely interbreed and probably should be united/lumped
> into a single species.  My suspicion about why the "experts" have not
> lumped the blallards or mack ducks is because then the "floodgates"
> would be open to possible other lumpings, since all of the ducks,
> especially the dabblers or surface-feeding ducks, are prone to mixing
> up their genes.  In my experience in Canada's "duck basket" on the
> prairies, it was not unusual to see two different kinds of ducklings
> in a single brood, and occasionally three kinds!  There are some nice
> paintings of hybrid ducks and ducklings? in Kortwright's classic,
> titled something like Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America??  As
> I recall, one of the hybrids documented was between two different
> subfamilies of ducks, namely goldeneye with a merganser??
>
> Cheers from Jim in Wolfville
> -----------------------
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: bdigout@seaside.ns.ca
>> Date: May 21, 2009 7:33:11 AM ADT
>> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> Subject: [NatureNS] strange bed...I mean duck-fellows
>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>
>> Yesterday in Strachan's Cove in St. Peter's, a pair of Red-breasted
>> Mergansers was accompanied by a Blue-winged Teal, while nearby a male
>> Mallard and female Black Duck were together.
>> Billy
>>
>
>


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