Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anatinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

One of the most familiar of ducks, the Mallard is found throughout North America and all across Eurasia. Where it does not occur naturally, it often has been introduced. It is found in all kinds of wetlands and is a familiar inhabitant of urban park ponds.

Cool Facts

• The Mallard is the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds (everything except the Muscovy Duck). Many of the domestic breeds look like the wild birds, but usually are larger. They are variable in plumage, often lacking the white neck ring or having white on the chest. Feral domestic ducks breed with wild Mallards and produce a variety of forms that often show up with wild ducks, especially in city parks.

• The widespread Mallard has given rise to a number of populations around the world that have changed enough that they could be considered separate species. The "Mexican Duck" of central Mexico and the extreme southwestern United States and the Hawaiian Duck both are closely related to the Mallard, and in both forms the male is dull like the female. The Mexican Duck currently is considered a subspecies of the Mallard, while the Hawaiian Duck is still given full species status.

• Mallard pairs are generally monogamous, but paired males actively pursue forced extra-pair copulations. Copulation between members of a pair usually takes place in the water after a long bout of elaborate displays. Forced copulations are not preceded by displays, and several males may chase a single female and mate with her.

• Mallard pairs form long before the spring breeding season. Pairing takes place in the fall, but courtship can be seen all winter. Only the female incubates the eggs and takes care of the ducklings.

Description

• Size: 50-65 cm (20-26 in)
• Wingspan: 82-95 cm (32-37 in)
• Weight: 1000-1300 g (35.3-45.89 ounces)

• Large dabbling duck.
• Male with iridescent green head, rusty chest, and gray body.
• Female mottled brown.

• Back of wing (speculum) shiny blue, with white line in front and behind.
• Wing linings white.
• Legs bright orange.

Sex Differences

Male with bright green head and pale body, female dull brown all over.

Male

Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Head iridescent dark green. Narrow white neck ring. Breast chestnut-brown. Back and wings brownish gray. Underparts light grayish. Rump and under tail black, with white area just in front along flanks. Tail white on outside with black middle feathers. Central tail feathers curled up toward back. Bill yellow to greenish, with black nail at tip. Eyes dark. Feet red.
Eclipse (Basic) Plumage: Crown dark green. Face pale brownish. Dark line through eye. Breast warm brown. Body and wings mottled brown, white, and buff. Slight upturn to central tail feathers. Bill clear yellowish olive.

Female

Brownish all over with mottled streaking of buff, white, and dark brown. Face paler than body. Dark line through eye. Dark streak on crown. Belly pale. Tail whitish. Undertail pale. Bill orange or yellow marked with variable splotches of black. Legs red-orange.

Immature

Juvenile similar to female.

Similar Species

• Red-breasted Merganser has green head, white neck ring, reddish chest, but is built very differently, with a shaggy crest and a long thin bill, and dives.
• Northern Shoveler has green head, but a white chest and rusty sides.
• Female dabbling ducks look very similar. Mallard is only one with a blue speculum bordered on both sides by white.
• American Black Duck is darker, with no white borders to its purplish speculum and a dark tail.
• Mottled Duck is darker with thin white line behind speculum only, tail dark.

Sound

Female gives loud series of quacks. Male makes softer, rasping "rab," also a grunt and whistle during display. Wings whistle in flight.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from Alaska to Nova Scotia southward to Mexico, northern Texas, Tennessee, and northern Georgia. Also in Greenland and across Eurasia. Introduced into Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.

Winter Range

Winters from southern Canada southward to Gulf Coast, northern Florida, and into northern Mexico.

Habitat

Found in all wetland habitats.

Food

Insects and larvae, aquatic invertebrates, seeds, acorns, aquatic vegetation, grain.

Behavior

Foraging

Dabbles, filter-feeds at surface of water, tips-up in shallow water, and makes occasional dives in deeper water.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Depression scraped in ground. Lined with vegetation and down from female's breast.

Egg Description

Creamy to greenish buff.
Incubation period 23-30 days.

Clutch Size

1-13 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Covered in down.
Chicks leave nest at 13-16 hours after hatching, independent at 52-70 days.

Conservation Status

Most widespread and abundant duck in North America, and the most heavily hunted. Populations closely tracked by wildlife agencies. You can help scientists learn more about this species by participating in the Celebrate Urban Birds! project.

Other Names

Canard colvert (French)
Pato de collar (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Drilling, N., R. Titman, and F. McKinney. 2002. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). In The Birds of North America, No. 658 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.