(Click on picture to enlarge)
© 1999 Walter
Bauer, Sugar Land, Texas
Field
Marks: Somewhat darker than a female Mallard and lacking the dark
blotches on the yellow bill. General pattern is dark tail and a single white
line on rear edge of speculum like a black duck.
Voice: Similar to mallards.
Where found: Gulf States, NE Mexico.
Texas: Resident along coast. Straggler
inland. These have been hanging around the bayou in First Colony (Settlers
Park), Sugar Land, Texas. There's been a family of five that I've seen.
Habitat: Coastal marshes, mudflats, ponds, bays.
Nest: Of grass, lined with down and among sedges and grass or under bush in or near a marsh. They lay 6-11 eggs, which are buff.