Duck-like Birds
Mottled Duck
Anas fulvigula
Description
21" (53 cm). Mottled dark brown and
sandy. Similar to a female Mallard, but bill clear yellow or
orange-yellow, throat plain tawny, and tail dark rather than
whitish.
Habitat
Coastal marshes and lagoons.
Nesting
9-13 pale greenish eggs in a down-lined nest of grass concealed in vegetation near a shore.
Range
Resident in southern Florida and along Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas.
Voice
A loud quack, like that of a Mallard.
Discussion
This southern duck is a very close relative of the widespread Mallard. Until recently, no other duck of
the genus Anas nested in these coastal marshes, and so the
distinctive male plumage, which among these birds enables females to
identify mates of their own species, was gradually lost. After
thousands of years of evolutionary change, the two sexes are colored
alike.