Waterfowl and waterbirdsDucks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Mexican Duck

Anas diazi

Very rareVery rare in Travis County but uncommon in Texas

The Mexican duck is a species of dabbling duck that breeds in Mexico and the southwestern United States.

Songs and calls

Call · United States
Richard E. Webster · xeno-canto XC941128 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Call · United States
Richard E. Webster · xeno-canto XC941124 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Call · United States
Richard E. Webster · xeno-canto XC583805 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Flight call · Mexico
Manuel Grosselet · xeno-canto XC723709 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Bar chart and range on eBird

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Where it's been seen

Hotspots with reports in the last 30 days.

Not reported in Travis County in the last 30 days

Browse species seen recently

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Telling it apart

Field marks that matter, and the birds it's most often mixed up with.

Looks like a darker female Mallard, darkest on the tail and under the tail.^{[1, 2]}
The speculum has a white trailing edge, but little or no white along its front edge, so it isn't fully framed like a Mallard's.^{[1, 2]}
Males have a plain olive to yellow bill; females' is dull orange to olive, with dark marks.^{[1, 2]}
Very rare here (under 20 county records). It hybridizes with Mallards, so a claim needs a careful look.^{[2, 3]}

Possibly mistaken for

Male & female
MallardFairly common
Mexican Duck is like a darker female Mallard; look at the tail and the speculum. Hybrids occur.^{[1, 2, 4]}
Mexican Duck:
Darker, especially on and under the tail; white only on the speculum's trailing edge, or narrower borders. Males have a plain olive-to-yellow bill.
Mallard:
Paler, with a mostly white tail and white borders on both sides of the speculum.

Sources (5) and credits

Mexican Duck, Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Mexican Duck, Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl ID
Travis County bar charts (eBird Basic Dataset), eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Mallard, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Mottled Duck, Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl ID

Lookalike photos from Wikimedia Commons: Mallard by This picture was realized by Richard Bartz by using a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens (CC BY-SA 2.5); Mottled Duck by JeffreyGammon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recordings: Mexican Duck (call) by Richard E. Webster (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, xeno-canto); Mallard (begging call, song) by David Darrell-Lambert (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, xeno-canto); Mottled Duck (flight call) by Paul Marvin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, xeno-canto)

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2026 in Travis County

From every checklist reported in the county this year: who found it first, who finds it most, and when.

First of 2026: Mar 17 · Jeff Osborne at Emma Long Metro Park
Latest report: Mar 17 · Jeff Osborne at Emma Long Metro Park
Reported on: 2 checklists, 1 day

Who finds it most

1. Janet Davis · 1 list
2. Jeff Osborne · 1 list

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Through the year

Rare or irregular

Mexican Duck: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026

Show as table

Mexican Duck: share of complete checklists, 2016–2026
Week	Checklists reporting it
Jan 1–7	0%
Jan 8–14	0%
Jan 15–21	0%
Jan 22–end	0%
Feb 1–7	0%
Feb 8–14	0%
Feb 15–21	0%
Feb 22–end	0%
Mar 1–7	0%
Mar 8–14	0%
Mar 15–21	<0.1%
Mar 22–end	0%
Apr 1–7	0%
Apr 8–14	0%
Apr 15–21	0%
Apr 22–end	0%
May 1–7	0%
May 8–14	0%
May 15–21	0%
May 22–end	0%
Jun 1–7	0%
Jun 8–14	0%
Jun 15–21	0%
Jun 22–end	0%
Jul 1–7	0%
Jul 8–14	0%
Jul 15–21	0%
Jul 22–end	0%
Aug 1–7	0%
Aug 8–14	<0.1%
Aug 15–21	0%
Aug 22–end	0%
Sep 1–7	<0.1%
Sep 8–14	0.2%
Sep 15–21	<0.1%
Sep 22–end	0%
Oct 1–7	0%
Oct 8–14	0%
Oct 15–21	0%
Oct 22–end (now)	0%
Nov 1–7	0%
Nov 8–14	0%
Nov 15–21	0%
Nov 22–end	0%
Dec 1–7	0%
Dec 8–14	0%
Dec 15–21	0%
Dec 22–end	0%

This week: Not usually reported now
Peak: mid Sep · 0.2% of checklists
Earliest eBird record here: Aug 14, 2024
Checklists reporting it: 18 across 2 years
eBird high count: 1 (Aug 14, 2024)
First of 2026: Mar 17
All year, here vs Texas: <0.1% of checklists here, 0.4% statewide
Texas counties with records: 47 of 254 since 2016

Best hotspots for it

Share of complete checklists at each hotspot that reported it (2016–2026). Hotspots with fewer than 15 checklists are left out, and the order discounts small samples, so a hotspot with few checklists can sit below one with a lower share.

1Lake Travis--Bob Wentz Windy Point Pk1% of 779

From the eBird Basic Dataset (Sep-2026), complete checklists only.

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