Birding Column: Appreciating Non-Native Ducks and Geese

Mathew Tekulsky
The Birdman of Bel Air
for National Geographic News

October 12, 2004

"Serious" birders in the U.S. pride themselves on their disdain for
non-native species. They wish all house sparrows and European starlings
would just go away, and I am sure that their attitude regarding
non-native ducks and geese is no better.

But I spent a few days in Santa Barbara, California, early one May, and I really enjoyed how close I could get to these domestic waterfowl, and I also appreciated each species's own special beauty.

The first location I visited was at Lake Los Carneros, just off Highway 101 in Goleta. Here I observed a number of domestic ducks, including a Muscovy duck, a mallard hybrid, and the Pekin duck, along with a greylag goose. Of course, native birds such as the American coot, mallard, and Brewer's blackbird also used this valuable oasis.

The following day I got up early in the morning and visited the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, which is actually a small lake situated right in the middle of Santa Barbara. On the shore I noticed a group of sleeping mallard hybrids, along with a swan goose.

Approaching quietly to within 20 feet (6 meters) of these birds, I took a photo of them in the 8 a.m. sun while they slept. I must have made a small noise, because suddenly, the ducks and geese popped their heads up out of their feathers to have a look at me.

I stood there quietly, not moving at all, for about three minutes, and by that time, the birds had settled back down into their sleeping positions again. They were totally unafraid of me, and the swan goose actually honked at me a few times when I got a little too close to him and his mate.

The ducks and geese bury their heads in their feathers and lift up one of their legs into their feathers when they're resting, to conserve heat. Is this behavior any less valid just because these birds are not native?

I think not.

Origins of Domestic Ducks and Geese

Domestic ducks and geese have all descended from native species throughout the world. The Pekin duck, with its white plumage and yellow bill, is actually a breed of mallard that was developed originally in China and was imported into the United States in 1873. (Native mallards are widespread throughout the world.)

The Muscovy duck occurs naturally in Central and South America, but it has been recorded in southern Texas. The native Muscovy duck is mostly black, with green and purple above, and white wing patches. The domestic variety often has large patches of white in its plumage.

The greylag goose is a native species in Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Europe, and it also winters in the Mediterranean and southern Asia. In North America the domestic greylag goose is similar in appearance to the native greater white-fronted goose, except the latter has a white patch at the base of a pink (instead of an orange) bill, and it also has black patches on its underparts.

Meanwhile, our domestic swan goose is descended from a species that occurs naturally in China as well as parts of Siberia, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. It can be distinguished from the greylag goose by the large knob at the base of its black bill.

Mathew Tekulsky writes a regular column about birding in his backyard and neighborhood in Bel Air, California. You can follow his encounters with the birds of the Santa Monica Mountains here on National Geographic News Bird Watcher every fortnight or so.

Don't Miss a Discovery
Sign up for the free Inside National Geographic newsletter. Every two weeks we'll send you our top news stories by e-mail.

For more Birdman of Bel Air stories, scroll to bottom.