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Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Chick Type: Precocial (Parental attendance) Type of Duck: Dabbling Mottled Ducks are only found along the Gulf Coast, most of Florida and the coastal area of South Carolina. They are a non-migratory species. This species lack the drastic sexual dimorphism that other duck species have, but the sexes differ in bill color and other discrete characteristics. Male Mottled Ducks have a bright yellow bill, while females have an orange-ish to drab yellow colored bill. Their diet consists of aquatic vegetation and aquatic invertebrates. This species breed in coastal marshes. Mottled Ducks lay 8 - 12 eggs and the incubation time is around 26 days. Unlike many other ducks of the genus Anus, Mottled Ducks do not migrate, they live and breed in the same range. This helps to explain why there is no sexual dimorphism in this species. Males don't need to stand out differently because they were the only ducks in their range during the breeding season until recently. Domesticated Mallards or wild Mallards that remain in wintering grounds in the gulf coast are hybridizing with Mottled Ducks. Hybrids from the two species are fertile and this poses a threat to genetic integrity of Mottled Ducks. Both male and female Mottled Ducks have a shiny green-blue speculum on their wing. |
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