How to Identify an American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)

• Head pattern: Male and Female: gray head distinguishes this species from other dabbling ducks
• Bill: Male: yellow bill. Female: duller (olive-green) bill
• Wing patch (speculum): Male and Female: dark purple speculum lacking the bold white edges shown by Mallard
• Underwing: Male and Female: white underwings strikingly contrast with the dark body in flight
• Body pattern: Male and Female: much darker body than a female Mallard, overall blackish-brown

American Black Duck is much darker-bodied with a gray (not mottled buff) head and a dark purple speculum without the Mallard's bold white borders; interbreeding produces intermediate hybrids The Mallard page lists its own marks.

Marshes, bays, estuaries, ponds, rivers, and lakes; winters mainly in coastal estuaries and tidal marshes Eastern North America, including Eastern Canada, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Southeast, Florida, and Plains

Shoot from water level if you can, with the sun behind you, so head pattern and the wing patch show their true colors. Get one frame with the bird side-on and one as it stretches or flaps, which exposes the speculum and belly. Note who it is swimming with; ducks flock by species. The app names the likely species; confirm with the marks above, and check the female separately, since females of many ducks look alike.