Next to the obviously dead duck, another male mallard (in full adult plumage without any visible traces of moult) was present. The unfortunate duck apparently had hit the building in full flight at a height of about three metres from the ground. 'I went downstairs immediately to see if the window was damaged, and saw a drake mallard (anas platyrhynchos) lying motionless on its belly in the sand, two metres outside the facade. 'Rape is a normal reproductive strategy in mallards,' explains Mr Moeliker.Īs he recounts in his seminal paper, The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard anas platyrhynchos, he was in his office in the Natuurmuseum Rotterdam, when he was alerted by a bang to the fact a bird had crashed into the glass facade of the building. It is not so much that up to one in 10 of mallard couples are homosexual - no one would raise an eyebrow in the liberal Netherlands - but they regularly indulge in 'attempted rape flights' when they pursue other ducks with a view to forcible mating.
