Muscovy Duck, Wednesbury (Hydes Road pool)
This was a bit of a surprise when out on an afternoon walk. It's a Muscovy duck, hanging around with the regular waterfowl on the pool at Hydes Road, Wednesbury, during the afternoon of Friday 27th October 2017. An odd bird at first glance, the head of a chicken grafted onto the body of a duck, and webbed feet with claws on the end. Rather like a bird assembled from a kit of mismatched parts. Apparently these are regarded as category E* in the UK, i.e. non-native birds which have bred in the wild but don't have self-sustaining populations. This one was a single individual, with no others of its type in the vicinity, so presumably an escapee from somewhere.