Pictures and Colour
genetics of Indian Runner Ducks
Runners
are not from India - find out more
Colours
Fawn Runners, plus Fawn-and-White, were the original colours
imported into the UK. Fawns were first exhibited at Dumfries in 1876,
while Fawn&whites were also shown at Kendal in 1896.
The Indian Runner Duck Club’s Standard of 1907 described only the
Fawn-&-white.
Since then the UK Runners have been standardized in White, Black, Chocolate, Cumberland
Blue, Mallard, Trout, American Fawn&White. More recently produced are the Apricot and Blue Duskies,
Silver ('Streicher') and Apricot Trout (Blaugelb in Germany,
'Saxony')
Crossed with other types of ducks, the Runner produced nearly all the Light Duck breeds
(such as the Campbell and the Abacot Ranger) which have a
lower carriage than the true Runner. There are now many standard
colours of Runner in the UK, and several more in Australia and
Germany
The Fawn Indian Runner is native to the East Indies. Photographed by
Duckrus in Bali, this flock shows the beautiful warm ginger fawn
described in the Standards. Imported as 'skins' by Wallace, and as
live ducks by Walton in 1909, this is the basic colour. The ducks
described in 1835 at the Zoological gardens UK fit the Fawn.
The genotype from the Far East is light phase dusky with the brown
gene. Light phase results in a ragged bib in the male; dusky removes
the eye stripes and pigments the under wing.
In recent years, the Blue gene has been added to the basic fawn
resulting a in the colour sequence: Fawn Dusky /Blue
Dusky/Apricot dusky (below and right).
Group of Blue Duskies. Duskies do not show eye-stripe markings in
the feathers on the face. The under-wing is also pigmented. They are
light phases duskies.
This is unlike the Trout, Blue Trout and Apricot Trout (Blau-gelb)
which have eye stripes and cream/white underwing feathers. The Trout
and Blau-gelb are not duskies. They are light phase mallard (below
and right).
Above: Apricot Trout (Blau-gelb) (Saxony).
Below: Apricot Trout drake (homozygous for blue - alias 'Saxony')
and Blue Trout duck (heterozygous for blue).
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