[Frank Lopez]

That's a domestic strain called a Ruen, bet he was sorry he ran away from home.

Rouens are flightless. The OP said that this bird flew in. Rouens and crosses generally have a deep keel, kind of like peiking ducks. We get some pretty big mallards and blacks in late winter when it really gets cold up north. Locally, they're known as Canadian redlegs. A friend of mine shot two one morning this past January. One black duck that weighted 6lbs 7oz and a drake mallard that weighed 6lbs 5oz. They were huge! But they didn't look quite that big.

Frank

 

[Frank Lopez]

Another pic of that thing. And yes, definitely "was" a flying duck. It was shot down out of a flock of ducks. The size made it stand out a tad so he got the first parking ticket.

While that IS a big mallard, this picture is a bit of a distortion. It's an old fisherman's trick. Since photographs are 2D, it is difficult to realize depth perception correctly. Holding the fish (in this case duck) at arms length will make it appear much larger than it really is.

Frank

 

[Frank Lopez]

Fishermans trick, really? Do my arms appear extended, no. Anyhow it's just a duck. NO I didn't mount it and no I'm not holding it way out to create size distortion. Saw several large mallard threads and thought I'd post a pic of mine.

Hey, I said it was a BIG duck. But the reality is, whether intentional or not, there is some size distortion. That bird is being held out away from the body. Just look at the shadow lines in both photographs.

Frank