What Is A Black Duck? It's Not A Breed!

In a general sense, when you hear black duck, you may point to any duck that has black feathers, but if we consider ornithology and birdwatching, then ‘Black Duck’ refers to a specific species of waterfowl that originated in North America.

So, what is a black duck? The name black duck refers to the American Black Duck scientifically known as Anas rubripes. As the name suggests, they have black feathers covering a significant part of their body, but feathers of different colors are also involved.

You might even confuse them with other ducks that share similar feather colors.
Therefore, if you truly want to understand what a black duck is, then keep reading this guide.

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What Is Considered a Black Duck?

When you are out in the wild, it may be difficult to identify a black duck just by looking at its feathers. That is why you should look for other features as well so that you don’t mix them up with other duck species.

To define a black duck, you may look for the following factors –

Size

American Black ducks are medium to large-sized ducks with a general length between 21 to 23 inches and weigh about 720 grams to 1.6 kg.

So, if you encounter a black-colored duck, but it isn’t around this mentioned size range, then you can be sure that it wasn’t the black duck.

Feather Color

The feather color between male and female Black ducks is different. Adult males have deep brownish-black feathers. They usually have pale green or brown-grey heads.

On the other hand, females of this species share the same dark patterns but have a brighter brown coating all over them.

Both males and females have white underwings, and, in most cases, they have a patch of bright violet, purple or blue feathers around their wings.

Bills

These birds also have different bill designs for males and females. Their bill colors also separate them from other ducks that share black feathers.
Male American Black ducks have green and yellowish bills, while the females have many paler or olive-colored bills.

Food Habit

American Black ducks are referred to as dabblers. This points to ducks that tip their bodies in the water but don’t submerge themselves completely and eat around the surface.

These ducks feed on insects, small plants and vegetation found around surface water and small aquatic organisms.

Habitat

Generally, you will find these birds around the eastern wetlands of the US. They prefer freshwater ponds, lakes and rivers. Black ducks are not bothered by saltwater areas, too. You may often notice them in the coastal areas.

Calls

While they have the general calling sound like other ducks, their voices are very loud and can be heard from a good distance. They can also make a whistling-like sound while calling.

This is a great pointer if you are looking out for black ducks because other ducks can’t call out as loud as them.

Why the American Black Is the ‘Black Duck’?

When you take a closer look, you will find that the American Black Duck isn’t completely black and has brown feathers covering its body.

Then why did it become the go-to black duck?

Simply because it became popular as a black duck and was named earlier than any other duck species with black feathers, the American Black Bird was named back in 1789.

Keep in mind that scientific naming for animals started in 1753; thus, it can be said that the American Black Bird was identified earlier than other black feather ducks, which allows it to claim the ‘Black Duck’ title.

What Differs Black Ducks from Others?

The main difference between the American Black Duck and the Mallard is the Black Duck’s darker paint.

You can see that the Mottled Duck is similar in size and shape to the American Black Duck, but it has a lighter feathering and a bluish-gray beak.

The American Black Duck is a goodly waterfowl with a shape nigh twin to Mallards.

They have rounded attics, stout beaks, and bulky frames, and like other paddling ducks, they rest aloft in the wet with their tails cocked heavenward.

The American Black Duck’s feathering is a motley of soot, sand, and tan that gives it the common name “Gloomy Duck.”

While the drake Black Duck could be mistaken for an utterly murky duckess Mallard at first sight, some signs make clear it’s a singular bird.

The Black Duck has a soot corpus contrasting with a wan brown pate and yellow beak, unlike the duckess Mallard’s paler corpus and orange-and-black beak.

Aloft, the Black Duck’s solid bluish-purple mirror (wing patch) and light underwing linings are typical.

Its reddish-orange shanks and plates account for the kin name rubripes (Latin for “Red Foot”).

Other waterfowl that look alike to the American Black Duck include the Mallard Duckess (Northern), Mallard Nonbreeding drake and duckess (Northern), Mottled Duck Drake, and Mottled Duck Duckess.

How to Identify Black Duck?

With the mentioned information, you can easily look out for the distinct physical features and behavioral patterns of American Black ducks to identify them from other species.

That being said, ‘Black Duck’ can be a broader term that may refer to most ducks with dark plumage. Generally, it is the American Black duck, but it can be other duck species like the Black Scoter or the Black-crowned Night Heron.

In those cases, look out for the distinct black feathers to find the black ducks.

Are Mallard and Black Duck the Same?

Most of the time, people confuse American Black ducks with Mallard ducks. While both of them share the same genus, they are not the same species of duck.

You might not be able to differentiate between them at first, but there are certain key differences that set them apart, and they are –

They Have Different Feather Colors and Patterns

Yes, you will obviously encounter black feathers among both birds, but Mallard ducks come with vibrant colors, not just deep brown and black all over their body like American Black ducks.

Mostly, their chest, back and wings are filled with deep brown feathers. They have green-colored feathers covering their head and a yellow-colored bill. So, you can easily distinguish between black ducks and mallard ducks.

Differences in Body, Size and Shape

While they share a similar size and body type as American Black ducks, Mallards have a smaller structure and weigh a bit less as well. Their length can be between 19 to 26 inches, and the weight is usually between 1 to 1.3kg.

Has Unique Calling Sounds

Unlike American Black ducks, Mallard ducks aren’t able to make whistling sounds.
Due to these reasons, you can say that a Mallard and a Black duck aren’t the same. They are completely different species who just happen to share black-colored feathers.

Final Thoughts

In the world of avian diversity, answering what a black duck is isn’t as simple as ducks with black feathers. There are multiple options based on that, but for most experts, it is the American Black duck.

So, just look into the details we have provided in this guide, and you should be able to distinguish a ‘Black duck’ with the help of the information provided above.

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