Ms. Freaky Beaky

Boyfriend of feitpingvin and I discovered this unusual female mallard while baiting the local ducks with bread, in order to take some photos of them.



At first we didn't know whether she had somehow gotten her beak snapped off or whether it was some kind of birth defect. Upon closer inspection, it looks like some kind of birth defect. Her beak is very short and curved up, and her lovely pink tongue sticks out. It was so sad to see...



It seems like she's doing OK though. While she's slightly smaller than the other ducks, she most certainly does not look unfed...



Ms. Freaky Beaky was also a lot tamer than the other mallards. Or perhaps desperate for food due to her strange beak making it more difficult to find food? Anyway, she didn't even hesitate to eat food right out of the palms of our hands, licking them with her funny little pink tongue...

While it was cute and all, we decided it would be best to just throw her the food. She's still a wild bird and it's not really that good of a thing if she's too trusting of humans...