The American Black Duck is a dark, wary dabbling duck of the eastern wetlands, closely related to the Mallard but noticeably darker — a sooty chocolate-brown body set off by a paler grayish face and a flash of violet-blue in the wing. The sexes look alike, unlike the sharply different Mallard drake and hen. Long a favorite of hunters for its wariness, it holds tightly to marshes, wooded swamps, and quiet rivers, and it is hardy enough to winter wherever open water and food remain.
The Black Duck has declined over the past century, and one factor is the Mallard itself: as Mallards expanded east, the two species began interbreeding widely, and hybridization along with habitat loss has reduced pure Black Duck numbers. In Michigan it breeds in marshes and swamps, is a common migrant, and gathers on open water in winter. Telling a hen Mallard from a Black Duck — and spotting hybrids — is a familiar challenge for the state's waterfowl watchers.
A dabbling duck that feeds on aquatic plants, seeds, and invertebrates in fresh water, tipping up and sifting the shallows, and takes more mollusks and crustaceans on brackish and open water in winter. Its wariness leads it to feed heavily at dawn, dusk, and night in quieter, sheltered wetlands.
The Black Duck is darker and more uniform, a sooty chocolate-brown with a contrasting paler face and a violet-blue wing patch usually lacking white borders. Hen Mallards are lighter tan-brown with a blue wing patch bordered by white bars.
Habitat loss and widespread interbreeding with the expanding Mallard have reduced pure Black Duck numbers. Where the two overlap, hybridization blurs the line between them, adding to concern for the species.
In marshes, wooded swamps, rivers, and other wetlands, often in quieter, more sheltered spots than Mallards prefer. It breeds in Michigan and is most numerous in migration and winter on open water.
Plumage barely changes with age, so the useful marks are bill color — olive-yellow on males, dull green with dark markings on females and immatures — and the violet speculum without white borders.
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