These two ducks were raised by the neighbor kids this summer.
The Pekin is a drake, and the other duck is a wild mallard hen.
Pekins have been bred for meat, and the juxtaposition of the white drake next to the wild hen shows how much selective breeding has changed this type.
He’s the St. Bernard of ducks, a big, slow lumbering duck.
But a nice one.
I’ve noticed that he’s decided to take over as the alpha duck in the flock.
He moves all the other ones around, and he is always looking over that yellow duck-killing wolf.
When they forage in the lilies, he kicks them up to expose any water insects or larvae that might be hiding on their stalks.
I recognised the white drake as a pekin with its distinctive rounded head even before reading your comment.
Often after sunday lunch we will take a stroll along the nearby Thames riverbank, sometimes with a stale loaf to feed the water birds. Often there are mallard descended domesticated ducks of various crosses and breeds among the feral flock, often with very pretty and striking plumage. Up to now we have never seen any of these ferals swimming with their ducklings or as a ‘mixed race’ couple, even though we see a few unusual types such as mandarins among the bread eaters and, lately, egyptian geese. I recall decades ago when we never saw canada geese on this stretch, but now they are the most numerous species, safe nesting on islands in the river and completely at home here, of course no longer a migratory species as in homeland Canada. One of the most unusual species in recent times attracting much attention at Henley has been a solitary Australian black swan. For years it tried to become partnered with a mute swan female, until a male mute swan chased the Ossie off. This year sadly the black swan has vanished from our scene and we hope he’s found a new stetch of water rather than than died loacally in our last severe winter which has reportedly depleted all kinds of species, albeit this great summer of 2013 may have just saved a few from edging towards the brink, or so the experts say.
I have to say, I’ve always found the mixes beautiful as well…the mallard-Pekin mixes that is…the colors and patterns appeal to me.