Location Taken: National Zoo, Washington DC
Time Taken: March 2010
Beautiful, aren’t they?
I know, I know, if you’re from this part of the world, you say “so what, it’s just a couple of ducks, we see them a lot.” Actually, you probably say that even in other parts of the world, it’s a rather common bird globally. But really, look at them!
The male duck especially. Mallards have the same sort of sexual dimorphism you see in a lot of birds, where the male of the species is really flashy, while the female has muted brown feathers well suited for hiding. It’s logical, I guess, since the males of the species have to compete to attract the ladies, while the females have the long nesting period where they need to keep their precious eggs hidden.
Admittedly, given how common rape is among duck species, I’m not so sure the coloration is needed any more, or even if the eggs are all that precious, but well, animal sexuality is a very weird subject.
Still, the green iridescence on the male duck’s head is marvelous, as is the blue iridescence under the wings both genders have (you can see it on the female in the photo).
Of course, even though I took this photo at a zoo, these weren’t exhibits, just a couple of local ducks hanging out in a pond. They’d fit right in with the birds in the bird house, though. They’re just as pretty as any of them. But well, since the locals are used to seeing them, they’d get miffed when they see just some ducks during their trip to see weird and exotic animals. I mean, this is one of the few zoos with Giant Pandas, after all!
I wonder if there are Mallards in zoos in parts of the world that don’t have them.
