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Mexican duck

Anas diazi · Ducks · Waterfowl · Migratory game birds

Mexican duck (Anas diazi): Both sexes resemble a female Mallard with mottled brown plumage but somewhat darker overall, especially on the tail and undertail. Blue wing patch (speculum) with white borders that may be narrower than a Mallard's. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the mexican duck map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Anas diazi
Family
Anatidae
In North America
Native
Range
Breeds from southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and west-central Texas south into the Mexican highlands. Non-breeding birds occur casually north through much of Colorado and Utah; accidental in California, Wyoming and Nebraska.
Biology

How to identify it

Both sexes resemble a female Mallard with mottled brown plumage but somewhat darker overall, especially on the tail and undertail. [1][2]

Blue wing patch (speculum) with white borders that may be narrower than a Mallard's. [1][2]

Male bill bright yellow; female's dull olive to orange. [1][2]

Length about 50-58 cm. [1][2]

Compared with the mallard (female): Mexican Duck is somewhat darker, especially on the tail and undertail, with narrower white wing-patch borders. [1][2]

Compared with the mottled duck: NatureServe notes difficulty separating Mexican Duck from Mottled Duck may be reducing detection of one or both. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a mexican duck before you act. Compared with the mallard (female): Mexican Duck is somewhat darker, especially on the tail and undertail, with narrower white wing-patch borders.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Mostly shallow freshwater marshes of lakes and ponds, slow lowland rivers and irrigated farmland. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Not truly migratory; seasonal local movements, gathering at permanent lakes and rivers in dry seasons and spreading out in rainy seasons [1][2]

Forages in water by dabbling, head-and-neck submerging or up-ending, rarely diving; also grazes and grubs on land [1][2]

Mostly plant material (seeds, stems, roots, waste grain), also insects, crustaceans, mollusks and tadpoles [1][2]

Male gives a thin rreeb; female quacks loudly [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Breeds from southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and west-central Texas south into the Mexican highlands. Non-breeding birds occur casually north through much of Colorado and Utah; accidental in California, Wyoming and Nebraska.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society

  2. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe