All ducks share three different types of pigment with most other birds. The pigment melanin creates tans, browns, and blacks. The group of pigments called porphyrins makes many different colors. The carotenoid pigment group produces greens and yellows. Another class of colors in birds is called structural color. These colors are not made by pigment, but by the actual molecular structure of the feather and how it reflects light. Structural colors in ducks are usually confined to the iridescent blues and greens on the necks of breeding males in some species. All ducks have carotenoids. Baby ducks who have the genes for melanin are darker because the darker melanin pigment masks the lighter carotenoid pigments. Baby ducks who lack genes for melanin are only yellow. Ducks who have genes to create porphyrin pigments and structural colors develop them within their feathers when they are adults.
Down
The color of the duck's down and adult feathers is also controlled by the genes. Ducks who only have carotenoids grow yellow down and light or white feathers as adults. The down is only meant to keep the babies warm. It is not water proof or strong enough to enable flight. The feathers replace the down as the duckling matures into adulthood.
Adult Plumage
Adult duck feathers keep the duck dry, warm, and enable flight. Adult feathers can be many different colors, but if the baby duck is yellow, it is almost always a sign that the cells the adult feathers will grow from lack pigment. Yellow areas on baby ducks usually turn into white or very light colored adult feathers.
Colors of Ducks
Not all baby ducks are yellow. Wild baby ducks may have patches of yellow down but most of their down is gray or brown. This coloration protects wild ducklings from predators by helping them to blend in with their surroundings. Wild adult female ducks are multi-colored in grays, browns, and black so that they are not easy for predators to find while they are sitting on their nests. Most wild adult male ducks are brightly colored or strikingly patterned to help them attract female ducks.
Yellow Hatchlings
Many breeds of domestic birds have yellow babies because they have been bred to have white feathers as adults. Tame breeds of geese, chickens, and ducks often have yellow babies. Domestic birds can be yellow as babies and white as adults because human beings protect them from predators.
References:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds: Color
University of Minnesota Extension: Raising Ducks
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