Mexican Duck

Mexican ducks are close mallard relatives native to west-central Mexico and the arid Southwest, classified for decades as just a mallard subspecies before genetic research restored full species status in 2020. Both sexes look like a dark female mallard — mottled brown body plumage, a blue speculum edged in white — with the drake showing a dull yellowish bill and the hen's mottled orange and black. Where the two overlap, Mexican ducks hybridize readily with mallards, and that's raised real conservation concerns about holding onto the genetic integrity of a population that's already smaller and more geographically limited to begin with.