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Thread: A Rare Duck? WARNING... Some may find this image disturbing!

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    Default A Rare Duck? WARNING... Some may find this image disturbing!

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    No Photoshop tricks done here!

    A flock of black-bellied whistling ducks were passing by and to my delight, this individual broke away from the rest and flew toward me. Through the viewfinder, it appeared that it was flying with its mouth gaped open, as if it was hot. Upon viewing it on the LED screen, it was apparent that there was something quite large in its mouth. A birdwatcher friend, who was in my company, commented that it was probably a large mollusk, one of the foods this species consumes. But a bright salmon/pink colored mollusk? Hmmmm... I did not give it much more thought.

    A couple days later, I opened the image on my monitor and nearly fell off my chair! It is incredible that this bird has been able to survive and thrive. I guess this would be considered a congenital defect? BTW, we have tried to spot this bird again but have been unsuccessful. I can't wait to read your comment on this one!
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    Last edited by Arthur Morris; 09-28-2011 at 02:51 PM.

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    Amy, that IS shocking! Have you looked into this at all, have you ever heard about this before? I certainly haven't! That's CRAZY! That's one for the record books for sure! What an incredible capture. I hope the bird is managing....
    WIsh we could see how it feeds with that..

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    It looks as if an outer layer of the bill has peeled away top and bottom....
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    Artie, the duck has too complete sets of beaks! Maybe it is a little hard to make out on my original post.

    Melissa, my biologist friend said that he has seen all kinds of animals with malformations but nothing even close to this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Amy Marques View Post
    Artie, the duck has too complete sets of beaks! Maybe it is a little hard to make out on my original post.

    Melissa, my biologist friend said that he has seen all kinds of animals with malformations but nothing even close to this.
    "too complete sets" or" two complete sets..."?

    Maybe it swallowed another duck feet first!!!

    More seriously, I have written Doug Wechsler at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia with a link to the image to see if anyone there has a clue.
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    How 'bout "to" complete sets (only kidding). That's okay, Artie... eye no that some people can't help but correct a type-o when they see one. ;) Anyway, I really do appreciate handing this case off to some experts. Thanks a bunch!
    Last edited by Amy Marques; 09-28-2011 at 04:21 PM.

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    How extraordinary. I look forward to reading what the expert has to say,
    gail

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    That's pretty amazing ...Poor baby. I'm glad he learned to survive but that's some crazy stuff there. Congrats on getting a shot of it.

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    wow, looks like it swallowed another whistling duck!
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    Doug Wechsler wrote, "Now that is weird. It would be interesting to see more detail on the face to figure out what the **** is going on with that duck. It looks like it swallowed another duck."

    I will let him know that you posted a close-up. Thanks!
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    Doug Wechsler
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    Default abandoning duck swallowing theory

    Amy,

    That closeup is very helpful. My guess is this bird flew into a thin wire. In any case it appears that the top of the bill was sheared in half horizontally going the length of the bill as if it flew straight into a knife. The tongue is exposed and the mandible is somewhat damaged. There is also trauma to the wing which could happen with a wire collision. Something else could have caused the damage, but it's hard to believe it could live long in this state.

    Doug Wechsler
    Last edited by James Shadle; 09-29-2011 at 09:05 AM. Reason: FP Signature

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    Thanks Doug, With the wing damage the collision theory makes sense but what would explain damage to both the upper and lower mandibles??? That would have taken two thin wires...
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    It sounds like a good theory to me also, but what confuses me is that both upper mandibles have nicely formed, hooked tips. It is hard to image that both of them would look that way with that kind of trauma. I will post an even closer shot of the head later this afternoon.

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    "mollusc" an animal with a hard shell and soft body. Not that it refers to this. Incredible sighting Amy, and he looks likes he's pretty healthy overall. I look forward to an experts explaination.

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    Here is an even closer image- not sure if it helps any.

    In addition to both uppers mandibles having hooked tips, please note that the upper and lower mandibles both have serrated areas. Is it possible for a duck to regrow a hook and serrations?

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