What are these ducks?

[Island Girl]

While out for a little cruise yesterday, these ducks were also out cruising. Does anyone know what the species is?

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/data/509/9DSC09772-1024w-med.jpg
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/data/509/9DSC09779_-1024w-med.jpg (http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/data/509/9DSC09779_-1024w.jpg)

[Grant]

They look like the water fowl equivalent of mutts to me. Seen them around here, milling about with the purebreds...

[csuhockey3]

They look similar to what my brother and I called rooster-ducks growing up. We would see them in Atlanta at my grandmothers house -- they looked like a cross breed between a goose/duck and a rooster. They were big, ugly and made funny noises when they swam, like they were asthmatic! The ones in the picture do look a little smaller and less offesively ugly, but might might be the same idea.

[Lin]

Island Girl, they look like domestic waterfoul like Cayuga and Magpies and some other types. check out this link. It has lots of domestic duck info even if it is based in the UK.

http://www.domestic-waterfowl.co.uk

[madrasahs]

Not knowing, I got a reply from a respected birder friend.

She says the Central American (true) Muscovie duck will hybridize with wild ducks, including the pintail -- your likely foreground two ducks/mix. The muscovie itself looks similar to the one furthest away in your picture -- only bigger. (May be the "rooster duck", too).

They're mutts, all right. (Nothing against mutts, you understand). :look:

[Gray Ghost]

Check this web site and you judge for your self, I think they are Eiders. :)

http://www.comozooconservatory.org/zoo/images/Eiders.jpg

[Zee]

They are definitely not eiders. They are hybrids. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But remember, they still cary duck mite parasites!

[MAXUM]

Mallards with halloween costumes on :laugh: or better yet a cloning experiment that went terribly wrong. :fire: