Leucistic plumaged Pacific Black Duck..

["Michael Ramsey" <>]

Hi all,

 

I stopped briefly at Chiltern this morning on the way home to Melbourne. At the Chiltern Valley No.1 Dam we noticed a strangley plumaged Black Duck. It was largely off white on the upperparts. Its eye stripe was faintly visiable, a pale fawn colour while its underparts were a blotchy mixture of fawn and off white. It was observed associating with other Black Ducks, and then seen with 10 normally plumaged ducklings. These may have not been it's young as there were other Black Ducks around.

 

I did consider it could have been an escaped domestic breed, or a hybrid, however it was the same size as they other Black ducks and flew strongly. Most escapees or hybrids I have seen are larger than Black Ducks and cannot fly strongly, or at all. Has anyone ever seen any similarly plumaged ducks. In October 2001 I observed a leucistic Pink-eared Duck at the Old Wodonga Sewage Ponds.

 

Also of note at Chiltern was a Painted Honeyeater at Bartley's Block.

 

Michael Ramsey, Whittlesea.

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