Mottled Duck

Anas fulvigula

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

The only duck adapted to breeding in southern marshes, the Mottled Duck is a dull relative of the Mallard. It is in danger of being displaced by introduced Mallards, primarily because of hybridization.

Cool Facts

• Compared to other species of ducks, pair formation occurs early, with nearly 80% of all individuals paired by November. Breeding starts in January, continuing through to July and usually peaking in March and April.

Description

• Size: 44-61 cm (17-24 in)
• Wingspan: 860 cm (339 in)
• Weight: 590-1380 g (20.83-48.71 ounces)

• Large dabbling duck.
• Body dark brown.
• Head and neck lighter brown.
• White underwing linings contrast sharply with dark body in flight.
• Greenish blue at back of wing.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, with male having brighter yellow bill.

Immature

Similar to adult.

Similar Species

• Female Mallard has bold white borders to speculum, orange bill, whitish tail feathers, pale belly, and is paler overall. Eclipse male Mallard has paler appearance, white tail, rusty wash on chest, and white borders to the speculum.
• American Black Duck has darker appearance, little buffy edging or internal markings on the body feathers, a purplish speculum without white borders, and lacks a black spot at the base of the bill at the gape.

Sound

A raspy "quack."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from Florida to Gulf Coast of northern Mexico. Introduced to coastal South Carolina.

Habitat

Freshwater wetlands, ditches, wet prairies, and seasonally flooded marshes.

Food

Seeds of grasses, aquatic vegetation, rice, aquatic invertebrates, and a few small fish.

Behavior

Foraging

Dabbles, filter-feeds at surface of water, tips-up in shallow water.

Reproduction

Nest Type

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

Egg Description

Dull white to olive.

Clutch Size

5-13 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Covered in down and able to leave the nest soon after hatching.

Conservation Status

Loss of wetland habitat has led to decrease in populations. Numbers fluctuate widely in response to periodic drought conditions. Mallards introduced as pets frequently interbreed with Mottled Ducks.

Other Names

Canard Brun (French)
Pato Tejano, Pato Moteado, Pato Chaparro, Pato Negro (Spanish)
Florida Duck, Dusky Duck (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Moorman, T. E. and P. N. Gray. 1994. Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) .In The Birds of North America, No. 81 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.