One of the main things that intrigued me on this painting was the feathers of the young ducks. They have a combination fur/feather quality, so that allowed me to enjoy the best of both worlds. Painting fur and feathers in the same piece. Plus, along with the water ripples and reflections, this was a very fun painting to do. I did some research, asked some friends and experts, and the result was, nobody is completely sure what type of duck the lead in this painting is? The general feeling is that it is a cross between a mallard and pintail. But since this was a wild duck, and the photo reference taken a few years ago, it's just one of those things I'll never know for sure. The back two are mallards, everyone is quite certain. Since there were adult mallards swimming around these youngsters, (and no other species around), that is a fairly safe guess.