A Quest for the Uncliche

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Un-mundane Mondays – Part: II

A new Monday heralds a new week, which necessitates the sharing of a new “discovery”. If the mention of Italy made you think that this is about the Colosseum, then I’m sorry but you would be “disappointed”. But, bear with me. I am hopeful that you won’t be disappointed..

Photograph

Blue Headed Mallards in Torino (Italy) Copyright: Abirbhav Mukherjee

Where

Turin / Torino, a beautiful and possibly underrated city in the Piedmont Region of Italy. A magnificent place where natural beauty nestles the perfect amalgamation of Classical Italy and the Modern Italy.

What

“What peculiar bluish ducks!” is what I thought when I saw these beautiful birds strolling leisurely in the Gardens of Piazza Carlo Felice. Took the pictures from a distance and didn’t disturb them.

Once again, I found these birds unique and beautiful, but I knew zilch about them, other than the fact that they are closely related to ducks.

Google Image Search, discussions with friends and further “data mining” yielded a few things which blew my mind.

These ducks are quite rare. It’s very difficult to find blue headed ducks.

The species shown here are Mallards (Scientific name: Anas platyrhynchos). As is common with most mallards, these two also have a bluish tinge in their inner feathers.

What differentiates them to the extreme extent is their peculiar yet regally beautiful blue heads.

Difficult it is to spot them, harder still it is to get any reliable information about them.

The blue colour of their heads may be attributed to the fact that these males have low testosterone levels. I don’t know how true this information is, but that’s all I got despite the extensive search.

Do you know what these birds are or why they are so blue in colour? Let me know in the comments below so that the same can be corrected.

When

The picture was taken in June 2019 CE

Equipment

Nokia 6.1 Mobile Phone Camera

Hope you liked these birds and are intrigued by them.

The real purpose of traveling should not be to merely click pictures of some of the biggies like Colosseum or Eiffel Tower.

There is immense beauty in the unknown. There is beauty even right under our nose, as exemplified by these rare yet stunningly beautiful blue headed mallards, which were quite unexpected, yet a very much welcome sight in Turin.

Looking forward to interacting more with you and “Make Mondays un-mundane”..

Cheers..!!

© Abirbhav Mukherjee. All the pictures / videos posted in this article are my own unless otherwise mentioned.

65 comments

    1. Thank you Shreya for your appreciation.. 😊😊
      I am glad you liked the picture and the post..!!
      I generally like nature, especially random beauties like these.. 😊😊

      Like

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  3. Leider weiß ich keine Antwort auf deine Frage – doch finde ich es interessant, dass du dieses Detail bewusst wahrgenommen hast. Ja, auf Reisen gibt es so vieles zu entdecken, wenn wir mit offenen Sinnen unterwegs sind und nicht blindlings auf ausgetretenen Pfaden wandeln.
    Alles Gute für dich! 😊😊

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Vielen Dank Frau für Ihren inspirierenden Kommentar. Es bedeutet viel..!! 😊🤗
      Sie haben sehr viel recht. Man sollte nicht blind den ausgetretenen Pfad gehen. Er / Sie sollte sich der schönen Sehenswürdigkeiten und Szenen bewusst sein, die buchstäblich überall vorhanden sein können.
      Nun, wir werden die Antwort sehr bald wissen, da bin ich mir sicher. Aber die Neugier, eine solche Schönheit zu schätzen und mehr zu entdecken, ist vielleicht etwas, das wir alle in uns einprägen müssen. 😊😊
      Nochmals vielen Dank Frau für Ihren schönen Kommentar.
      Sich kümmern.. 😊🤗

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much Madam for nominating me for the award..!! I shall check that for sure.. 😊🤗
      Humbled to know that my blog was able to have a good impact on you and you remembered it.. 😊
      I would however have to decline this as it would be unfair on my part to pick and choose some of my followers as my nominations. I consider all of them to be great.. 😊
      Hope you understand..!! Thank you once again.. 😊
      I feel the interactions, thoughts, suggestions or comments to be more rewarding to me.. 😊😊 I am always eager to hear more of your thoughts.. Hope you would continue that.. 😊😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Oh my god of course! You totally deserve and thanks to you, I updated the post! Thank you so much for helping me realize that as well! I totally understand! ❤️

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. Thank you so much Madam.. 😊😊
      I too like clicking pictures of birds.. It’s a bit difficult though to click them.
      The blue mallards are quite rare though and I stumbled upon them quite unexpectedly..

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Sai che il pezzetto di Sicilia in cui vivo è anche Riserva Naturale e zona di migrazione? Durante i periodi di migrazione, se raggiungi i piccoli laghi costieri di Ganzirri, puoi ammirare svariati tipi di uccelli e ovviamente tante papere!
    Ciao Abir!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Sapevo che vivevi nel “Sicilyshire”, ma non sapevo che vivessi vicino a una riserva naturale.. 😊😊
      Sarebbe fantastico fare una passeggiata o una crociera in quella riserva. Sarà una miniera d’oro per me poiché potrò vedere diverse piante endemiche e sconosciute, alberi, fiori e animali laggiù.
      Anatre o germani reali sono abbastanza comuni anche in India, ma questi blu ho visto solo e solo a Torino, anche in un giardino urbano.
      Grazie Benedetta per l’ennesimo prezioso consiglio per la tua bellissima Sicilia.. 😊😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Sehr schöne Fotos!
    Die Stockenten sind bei uns in Deutschland vermutlich die häufigsten Enten.
    Man sieht sie überall.
    Die Köpfe der Erpel sind mal blau und mal grün auf Fotos. Je nach Lichteinfall.
    Viele Grüße
    Brigitte aus Bremen in Deutschland.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Vielen Dank Frau für Ihre wertvollen Erkenntnisse .. !! 😊😊
      Sie haben Recht, die Stockenten sind an vielen Orten in Europa weit verbreitet. Ich glaube, ich habe auch ein paar (grüne) in Berlin gesehen.
      Diese blauen Stockenten wurden jedoch am helllichten Tag gefangen genommen. Die Farben würden sich trotz Änderung des Betrachtungswinkels nicht ändern.
      Denken Sie nicht, dass Licht hier für diese Drachen kein entscheidender Faktor ist? Lassen Sie mich Ihre Ansichten wissen.
      Nochmals vielen Dank, Frau, für das Teilen Ihrer wertvollen Erkenntnisse. 😊😊
      – Abir

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      Reply

    1. You are welcome Madam and thank you for your enthusiastic comments..!! 😊😊
      I am glad to know that you like seeing ducks, especially the rare ones like these.. 😊😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. These Mallards are so beautiful 🤩
    And the fact that…their blue head is due to low testosterone level..it’s quite interesting.😉you didn’t find any female Mallards there?

    Great article Abir😊💙
    I am impressed with your travelling skills…😀
    When I travel ..I am more into discovering foods😅
    Keep travelling 😊
    Keep smiling 💙

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Anushka for your enthusiastic comments.. ☺️🥰
      So glad you liked these mallards and the post.. ☺️☺️
      Well, I am no ornithologist and I cannot spot a female or male just by looking from afar unless some striking differentiator is present (as in this case).. 😉

      Regarding the testosterone level, that’s what Google threw up after a hell lot of research. Still not sure though. Hope some ornithologist checks and confirms this..!!

      Thank you Anushka for your opulent praise, yet again.. ☺️🤗 You made me smile..!!

      Take Care, stay safe..!! ☺️
      Some posts on food will come up though 😉 some are already there in my previous posts.. check them out.. ☺️☺️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Pleasure is all mine Abir 😊 reading your post is a bliss.

        Well …about the birds…let ornithologist confirm..😅 I can’t say anything in that

        And I’ll love to see your food posts…and I am sure they are delicious 🤩
        You too take care…and stay safe 😊

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  13. Beautiful Mallards in a beautiful post! I like to explore such unknown destinations too. Something unique and unknown does pop up in such places.. it did make my Monday un-mundane. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you Rujuta for your lovely comment..!! I am glad you liked these blue-headed mallards.. 😊😊
      You are right.. There is everything enigmatic and alluring in such unknown destinations.. 😊😊 Never did I leave such places with any disappointment..!!
      I never knew Turin would house mallards. I didn’t even know about the existence of blue-headed mallards prior to visiting Turin..!!
      Thank you once again and glad to know that your Monday did indeed become “un-mundane”.. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much Madam.. 😊😊
      Well, Mallards are basically green headed majorly. These blue headed ones are quite rare.. I don’t remember seeing another blue headed one anywhere else..

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        1. 😊😊 That’s nice to hear..
          I hope you are able to spot blue headed mallards in your home country as well.. try looking for the spots frequented by a large number of mallards to increase the chances of spotting one blue headed mallard..!!
          Glad you enjoyed my post.. 😊 Thank you so much for reading it and sharing your comments.. 😊

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  15. Ciao! 🙋🏻‍♀️ articolo meraviglioso,adoro le tua bellissima descrizione di Torino!!! Grazie mille di cuore per aver condiviso questo,a Torino vivono alcuni miei parenti e leggendolo mi sono davvero commossa!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Salve signora..!! 🙋🏻‍♂️ così bello avere i tuoi gentili commenti qui.. ☺️ Sono contento che ti sia piaciuto il mio post sul tuo bellissimo paese .. !! 🤗
      Grande..!! Ho adorato Torino e ogni momento trascorso a Torino.. ♥️🇮🇹
      Buono a sapersi che hai dei parenti laggiù. Puoi condividere questo post con loro o con i tuoi amici a Torino se vuoi .. !!
      Grazie immensamente per i tuoi bellissimi commenti .. ☺️☺️🤗

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

        1. È così dolce da parte sua condividerlo, signora.. 🥰🤗
          Spero che gli piaccia.
          Fai loro sapere che Torino è bellissima e adoro Torino .. !! ♥️🇮🇹
          Ho anche scritto qualche altro articolo su Torino, anche se quelli contengono anche descrizioni di altri luoghi .. Vedi se ti piacciono .. !! ☺️☺️

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

            1. This is Italian language.
              And I don’t know Italian that much.. It’s very rusty.. I use Google Translator to do the work.. ☺️
              I know reading and writing Russian though 😉

              Like

              Reply

                1. I suggest you try completing one before getting on to learn Russian.. I did it as a survival tactic, though later on I fell in Love with Russia.. ♥️🇷🇺❄️❄️❄️❄️

                  Liked by 1 person

                  Reply

                    3. Infact I think I mentioned that in my introduction which follows every post.. 😉
                      Sure Anushka, you too take care..!! ☺️🤗
                      Awaiting your feedback on the other posts.. Hope you find them “delectable”.. 😉☺️

                      Liked by 1 person

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