It's this a mallard?

[muus]

Hi
This sunday I caught this duckling in a small watercourse and I caught it. A black-crowned night heron want to eat it and I saved from that bird. The duckling was scared and swam very fast and dipped under the water and I saw that clear colours. I don't know if it's a type of mallard breed or other kind of duck.
I want to say that when I was younger, I caught mallard ducklings and never survived. This one is eating a lot and don't scare a lot of me, When I put my finger near it's beck, bite me. It's very cute.







Is very friendly!!!


If anyone can tell me what breed of mallard of is or what kind of duck is, I will be very grateful.
Thanks

 

[Ica94]

if its a mallard duckling it must be a couple of days old because the color on its down is very light. Poor baby must have been scared

 

[muus]

if its a mallard duckling it must be a couple of days old because the color on its down is very light. Poor baby must have been scared

I don't understand what you want to say...
I yhought that it haves more than a week. My mallard ducklings when they were one week old they were like this duckling. And mallard ducklings are black and yellow and white in the vent but this is clear brown.
Thanks

 

[Dr. Todd]

It's a pochard of some sort. Possibly red-crested pochard and definitely not a mallard.

 

[Amykins]

Yeah, the beak shape and colors don't look too mallard-ish. Also be careful, I've saved babies from a heron before but I always had to make an effort to find its mother and return it. Turning a wild duckling into a pet is unfair to the baby and there's a chance it will always be afraid and stressed out without its own kind.

 

[desertdarlene]

Where are you located? As far as I know, there's no pochards in North America except vagrant adults.

I'm thinking it's a Muscovy duckling.

 

[Dr. Todd]

The OP is in Spain.

 

[muus]

Definetly is a red cersted pochard Netta rufina
I was looking some photos in google and I thought that it's imposible to my duckling to be a pochard because of it's clear brown down and fluorescent orange beck, but looking better I see that red crested pochards have the same colour in their beck, mine is a mutation of pochard because the normal ones have dark brown down and mine it's clear.
If all go alright an it grows well I will show you more photos.
Thank you all for helping

 

[muus]

Because all is going alright, this are the promised photos:





It haves a best friend, a gadwall. This last week I get them follow the mallard flock, it's perfect for me because they can come with all us to the pond and play in the water. The pochard is an incredible submariner, it dives very fast, the gadwall not much....
Thanks